/O.  //.  3^ 


LIBRARY    OF    TH|    THEOLOGICAL    SEMINARY 

PRINCETON,     N.    J. 
PRESENTED  BY 

Mrs.    Donald  Sinclair 


BV  4315    .R67    1887 
Ross,  Abel  H.    1831-1893 
Sermons  for  children 


* 


i 


SERMONS  FOR  CHILDREN 


BY 


A.  HASTINGS   ROSS, 

Pastor  of  the  First  Congregatwnai  Church  of 
Port  Huron,  Michigan. 


BOSTON  AND   CHICAGO: 


COPYRIGHT,    1887,    BY 
CONGREGATIONAL  SUNDAY-SCHOOL  AND   PUBLISHING   SOCIETY. 


Electrotyped  and  Printed  by 
Stanley  &^  Usher,  171  Devonshire  Street,  Boston. 


DEDICATION. 


To  the  children,  whose  constant  presence  in  the 
House  of  God  with  expectant  faces  has  saved  these 
sermons  from  utter  failure,  this  volume  is  gratefully 
dedicated  by  their 

PASTOR. 


i 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE 
I. 

Feeding  the  Lambs i 

II. 
The  Bible 5 

III. 
God  Our  Refuge 10 

IV. 
The  Gospel  of  Matthew       15 

V. 
Aiming  at  High  Things 21 

VI. 
The  Obedience  of  Soldiers 26 

VII. 
;-     Making  the  Most  of  School 31 

VIII. 
Making  the  Best  of  Every  Thing 36 

IX. 
,      Sacred  Places  and  Things 42 

X. 

Good  Manners  in  Bad  Company 47 

XI. 
Cruelty 53 

XII. 
V     The  Right  Use  of  Money 58 

XIII. 
Anxiety  for  Dress 63 


VI  CONTENTS. 

XIV. 
Something  Better  Beyond 68 

XV. 
Keeping  Things  in  Order 73 

XVI. 
Pure  Hearts,  Pure  Words 78 

XVII. 
Sowing  Seed 82 

XVIII. 
Degrees  in  Fruitfulness 88 

XIX. 
The  Boy  Ulysses  S.  Grant 93 

XX. 
Little  Helpers 98 

XXI. 

Not  Consenting  to  Sin 102 

XXII. 
Faith  in  Jesus  Christ       108 

XXIII. 
The  Duty  of  Prayer 112 

XXIV. 
The  Manner  of  Prayer 116 

XXV. 

The  Address  of  the  Lord's  Prayer 120 

XXVI. 
First  Petition  of  the  Lord's  Prayer 125 

XXVII. 
Second  Petition  of  the  Lord's  Prayer 130 

XXVIII. 
Third  Petition  of  the  Lord's  Prayer      135 

XXIX. 

Fourth  Petition  of  the  Lord's  Prayer 139 


CONTENTS.  vii 

XXX. 

Fifth  Petition  of  the  Lord's  Prayer 144 

XXXI. 
Sixth  Petition  of  the  Lord's  Prayer       149 

XXXIL 
The  Doxology  of  the  Lord's  Prayer 154 

XXXIIL 
Bottling  up  Tears 160 

XXXIV. 
Studying  Animals i6q 

XXXV. 
A  Mocker  and  a  Brawler 170 

XXXVI. 
Playing  Out  After  Dark 176 

XXXVII. 
Jesus  Our  High  Priest 181 

XXXVIII. 
Sorrow  for  Sin 187 

XXXIX. 
How  TO  Become  a  Christian 192 

XL. 

Suffering  as  a  Christian 197 

XLI. 
The  Boy  Samuel 202 

XLII. 
Be  Honest 207 

XLIII. 
Honesty  the  Best  Policy 213 

XLIV. 
Playing  for  Keeps 219 

XLV. 
Mine  and  Thine;  or,  Stealing 223 


via  CONTENTS. 


XLVI. 
Profane  Swearing 229 

XLVII. 
Telling  Lies 234 

XLVIII. 
Little  Truants 239 

XLIX. 
Work  Honorable 244 

L. 
The  Rain      .     .     .     .^ 250 

LI. 
The  Snow 255 

LIL 
Taking  Care  of  the  HEiVurn 261 

LIIL 
Punctuality 267 

LIV. 
Daniel,  the  Temperance  Boy 273 

LV. 
Fretfulness 279 

LVI. 
Thinking  of  One's  Self 285 

LVIL 
The  Best  Ornaments 290 

LVIIL 
Dorcas  and  Her  Deeds 295 

LIX. 
Meaning  of  the  Church  Services 302 

LX. 
Do  Not  Kill  the  Birds 308 

LXL 
Getting  Angry  Without  Sin 313 

LXn. 
The  Unruly  Tongue 318 


INTRODUCTION. 


It  was  in  May,  1881,  after  long  waiting,  that  I  ventured 
to  announce  to  my  people  a  series  of  sermons  for  chil- 
dren. I  did  not  think  the  series  would  last  many  weeks, 
but  it  still  continues,  one  every  Sunday  preceding  the 
usual  sermon,  with  a  short  hymn  between  the  two. 
Others  had  attempted  it,  but  their  success  or  failure  did 
not  bring  the  children  in  my  parish  out  to  the  church  ser- 
vices ;  so,  in  fear,  I  ventured  to  attempt  the  feeding  of 
the  lambs  in  my  flock  with  food  suited  to  them,  and  so 
to  win  them  into  the  sanctuary.  About  the  same  time 
we  began  a  roll-call  every  Sunday  in  the  church  school, 
embracing  three  things  :  i .  The  number  of  scholars  pres- 
ent, excluding  new  scholars  for  any  Sunday  ;  2.  The  num- 
ber of  perfect  lessons;  and  3.  The  number  at  church 
services.  As  the  name-number  of  each  class  is  called 
by  the  superintendent,  the  teacher  reports  for  each  of 
the  above  points,  and  the  superintendent  records  the 
answers  in  a  book  prepared  for  the  purpose.  On  these 
answers  percentages  are  made  of  lessons  and  church 
attendance,  and  announced  to  the  school.  New  scholars 
are  not  reported  the  first  day  they  appear,  as  such  report 
would  unjustly  reduce  the  percentages.  It  takes  but  a 
few  minutes  to  make  these  reports,  and  it  gives  the 
actual  attendance  upon  our  church  service  for  every 
Sunday  in  the  year,  and  the  per  cent,  of  those  present  in 
the  Sunday-school,  excluding  the  infant  class,  who  have 
attended  church.  That  per  cent,  of  church  attendance, 
as  thus  accurately  reported,  was,  for  1885,  76. 


X  INTR  OD  UC  TION. 

This  object  of  the  sermons  and  of  the  roll-call  has 
been  attained  much  more  fully  than  I  had  expected.  And 
the  interest  in  the  sermons  manifested  by  adults  as  well 
as  children  has  led  me  to  regard  this  part  of  my  labor  as 
the  most  fruitful  of  all.  The  sermons  have  aimed  at 
plain  and  practical  instruction,  and  not  at  sensational 
results.  Hence  they  have  not  been  highly  wrought,  or 
embellished  with  stories  that  seldom  benefit  hearers. 

This  volume  is  almost  exclusively  made  up  of  sermons 
pubhshed  in  the  Congregational  paper  of  Michigan,  The 
Beacon,  irom  January,  1885,  to  May,  1886,  and  in  a  little 
volume  printed  for  an  Easter  gift  to  the  children  of  the 
Sunday-school,  and  entitled  "The  Fruit  of  the  Spirit." 

Believing  them  wholesome  in  tone  and  useful  in  matter, 
I  commend  them  to  the  charity  of  critics,  the  use  of  the 
children,  and  the  blessing  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus 
Christ. 

A.   HASTINGS  ROSS. 

Port  Huron,  Michigan. 

August  30,  1887. 


Sermons  for  Children. 


I. 

FEEDING    THE   LAMBS. 

Feed  my  lambs,  —  John  21:   15. 

JESUS  CHRIST  our  Saviour  said  to 
Simon  Peter,  one  of  his  apostles : 
"  Feed  my  lambs."  What  did  he  mean  by 
his  lambs  ?  He  meant  the  children  of  the 
Church,  and  all  children ;  and  he  meant  by 
feeding  them  to  teach  them  about  God  and 
duty.  May  I  not  teach  you,  children,  in 
short  sermons,  as  Jesus  tells  me  to  ?  And 
will  you  not  hear  and  heed  what  I  say? 
If  so,  then  you  will  come  to  church,  which  is 
God's  house,  to  be  taught,  just  as  lambs 
come  to  the  fold  to  be  fed.  Then  I  want 
you,  when  you  go  home,  to  get  your  Bibles 
and  find  the  text  for  every  sermon  I  preach, 
and  read  what  there  is  before  it  and  after  it, 
so  you  will  know  all  about  it.  But  this  is 
not  all.      I  want  you  to  help  in  singing  the 


2  SERMONS  FOR    CHILDREN. 

hymns  and  in  reading  the  responsive  lessons, 
so  that  the  voices  of  the  children  may  be 
heard  in  the  worship  of  God. 

I  want  you  also  to  stay  in  the  church  all 
through  the  worship  and  to  sit  very  still  and 
not  move  or  look  about,  for  this  is  the  house 
of  God,  and  he  likes  devout  manners  here. 
These  are  the  things  which  you  are  to  do, 
children,  if  you  want  to  be  fed  by  your  pas- 
tor :  ( I )  Come  to  church  every  Sunday. 
(2)  Find  each  text  and  read  what  comes 
before  it  and  follows  it.  (3)  Help  in  the 
singing  and  in  the  reading  all  you  can.  (4) 
Stay  in  the  church  and  sit  still  all  through 
the  worship.  But  I  forgot  another  thing  I 
wanted  to  tell  you.  (5)  Tell  your  parents 
when  you  go  home  all  about  the  sermon,  and 
try  and  remember  it,  that  you  may  tell  them. 
If  you  will  do  these  five  things,  your  pastor 
will  feed  the  lambs  of  his  flock. 

But  I  want  you  to  listen  while  I  say  five 
things  to  your  fathers  and  mothers  about 
your  coming  to  the  church  service  every 
Sunday.  I  want  them  to  bring  you  to 
church,  and  so  I  say  to  them :  — 

I.  Make  the  church  and  the  service  so 
joyous  that  the  children  will  be  glad   when 


FEEDING    THE  LAMBS.  3 

you  say  to  them :  "  Come,  let  us  go  into  the 
house  of  the  Lord  and  worship  to-day." 

2.  Bring  the  children  with  you  to  church. 
Do  not  the  lambs  go  where  the  sheep  go  ? 
If  you  bring  the  children  to  church,  they  will 
learn  to  come  to  church  ;  but  if  you  leave 
them  at  home,  they  will  learn  to  stay  at 
home  and  seldom,  if  ever,  go  to  church.  As 
the  twig  is  bent,  the  tree  is  inclined. 

3.  The  lambs  grow  up  to  be  sheep  in  a 
little  while,  and  they  should  be  in  the  fold, 
else,  when  the  sheep  die,  what  becomes  of 
the  fold?  Train  your  children  to  fill  your 
places. 

4.  The  neglect  of  parents  to  take  their 
children  with  them  is  making  empty  pews  in 
many  churches.  How  many  have  gone  out 
from  your  homes  and  Sunday-school,  who 
are  never  seen  in  church  simply  because  you 
did  not  train  them  to  go  to  church ! 

5.  Bear  a  little,  then,  with  the  children. 
They  get  restless  sometimes,  but  never  mind 
it.  It  is  best  for  them  to  come  ;  best  for  the 
Church  of  Christ ;  best  for  all.  Let  the  little 
lambs  come  and  be  fed. 

Here  are  five  things  for  fathers  and 
mothers  to  think  of. 


4  SERMONS  FOR    CHILDREN. 

What  food  shall  I  give  the  lambs  ?  Not 
many  stones,  but  the  good  things  of  God's 
Word,  which  is  the  Bible ;  these  I  will  give 
you,  and  I  will  use  plain  words  so  that  the 
youngest  may  know  what  I  say. 

Now,  children,  let  us  ask  God  to  bless 
these  short  sermons,  that  they  may  do  you 
good  and  make  you  better  boys  and  girls  — 
more  kind,  loving,  obedient,  prayerful. 
When  Peter  and  others  tried  to  keep  the 
children  away,  Jesus  said:  "Suffer  the  little 
children,  and  forbid  them  not,  to  come  unto 
me :  for  of  such  is  the  kingdom  of  heaven." 
Then  let  parents  help  the  pastor  to  feed  the 
lambs  and  to  lead  them  to  him  who  takes 
away  the  sin  of  the  world. 


II. 

THE    BIBLE. 

And  that  from  a  babe  thou  hast  known  the  sacred  writings.  —  2 
Tim.  3:    15. 

A  S  all  my  texts  are  taken  from  one  book 
-^^^  called  the  Bible,  I  will  tell  you,  chil- 
dren, a  few  things  about  the  Bible,  for  I 
want  you  to  be  like  Timothy,  who  is  spoken 
of  in  the  text,  and  who  knew  the  sacred 
writings,  or  the  Bible,  from  a  babe.  He 
was  no  older  than  you  are  when  he  began 
to  hear  the  Bible  read,  or  to  read  it  himself. 
And  you  can  do  what  he  did.  You  can 
know  the  sacred  writings  from  your  youth, 
if  your  mothers  will  teach  you  to  read  and 
study  them. 

lo  Let  me  tell  you  what  the  word  Bible 
came  from.  It  is  the  old  word  for  book. 
Books  were  once  written  on  the  inner  bark 
of  a  reed  or  flag,  called  pa-py'-rus  ;  and  the 
name  of  that  inner  bark  was  given  to  the 
writing  itself,  and  so  we  have  biblia,  Bible, 
book.     The  Bible  is  the  book  of  our  sacred 


6  SERMONS  FOR    CHILDREN. 

writings,  the  Book  of  books,  the  best  of  all 
books  ever  written. 

2.  The  way  the  Bible  was  written.  Men 
wrote  the  Bible  as  they  used  to  write  in  those 
days.  They  did  not  leave  a  little  space 
between  one  word  and  another,  as  we  do, 
which  helps  us  to  read ;  but  they  wrote 
all  the  words  close  together  as  one  word. 
I  will  write  the  text  the  way  they  wrote  the 
Bible,  and  how  many  of  you  can  read  it? 
Here  it  is  :  — 

Andthatfromababethouhastknownthesacred 
writings. 

The  words  are  now  printed  with  a  space 
between  them,  and  how  much  easier  it  is 
to  read  the  sentences. 

Neither  did  the)  write  the  Bible  in  chap- 
ters and  verses,  but  without  chapters  and 
verses.  Hence  it  was  harder  than  it  is  now 
to  find  the  place  of  a  text  or  passage.  If, 
then,  Timothy  knew  the  sacred  writings  from 
a  babe,  when  it  was  so  much  harder  to  learn 
the  Bible,  you  ought  to  know  it  better  than 
he  did,  since  it  is  so  much  easier  to  read 
it  now. 

3.  The  Bible  was  not  written  by  one  man," 
but  by   many  men.      If  you   will   open  your 


THE  BIBLE.  7 

Bibles  you  will  see  that  there  are  thirty-nine 
books  in  the  Old  Testament  and  twenty- 
seven  in  the  New  Testament.  Some  of 
them  are  very  short,  and  some  are  long. 
These  books  were  written  by  about  forty  men, 
who  lived  far  apart  in  time.  Some  of  these 
men  were  shepherds,  and  some  kings,  and 
others  were  farmers,  priests,  generals,  fisher- 
men, tent-makers ;  but  all  were  good  men, 
though  they  did  very  wicked  things  some- 
times. 

4.  Yet  the  Bible  is  one  book.  If  forty 
children  should  write  letters,  do  you  think 
their  letters  would  agree,  or  be  alike  ?  If 
forty  men  should  write  books,  what^  mixture 
they  would  make,  if  their  books  should  be 
bound  into  one  volume !  They  would  not 
agree  together  as  the  Bible  does.  Now, 
how  does  it  happen  that  the  forty  men  who 
wrote  the  Bible  agree  so  well  together  In 
what  they  say  ?  I  will  tell  you,  and  you  must 
heed  and  remember  what  I  say. 

5.  God  inspired  them  to  write  as  they 
did.  This  tells  us  why  the  Bible  is  the 
best  of  all  books.  God  guided  their  minds 
to  write  as  they  did,  and  sometimes  told 
them  what  to  write,  as  your  mothers  tell  you 


8  SERMOA^S  FOR    CHILDREN. 

what  to  write  to  a  sister  or  brother  or 
father.  So  we  call  the  Bible  the  Word  of 
God,  the  sacred  writings,  for  God  inspired 
men  to  write  it. 

Were  your  mother  to  go  away  from  you 
for  a  long  time,  she  would  write  letters  to 
you  full  of  love  and  good  advice,  telling  you 
what  to  do  and  what  not  to  do ;  and  you 
would  know  that  the  letters  were  from  your 
mother  by  what  she  says  in  them  to  you, 
and  by  the  love  she  sends  you.  So  we 
know  that  God  caused  the  Bible  to  be  written 
by  what  he  says  in  it  to  us,  and  the  love  he 
shows  us.  There  is  not  much  more  doubt 
about  it  than  there  is  about  the  letters  your 
mother  writes  home  to  you  when  she  is 
absent. 

6.  We  ought  to  treat  the  Bible  as  sacred, 
and  not  as  we  treat  any  other  book.  It  is 
more  to  us  than  any  other  book.  It  is  from 
God,  and  no  other  book  is  from  him,  and  so 
we  should  treat  it  as  God's  book.  We 
should  keep  it  neat  and  clean  ;  we  should 
read  it  and  study  it ;  we  should  obey  it  in  all 
things. 

Please  learn  by  heart  these  things  about 
the  Bible:  — 


THE  BIBLE. 


(i)  The  Bible  is  the  Word  of  God. 

(2)  It  tells  us  about  God. 

(3)  It  tells  us  about  Jesus  Christ. 

(4)  It  tells  us  about  heaven  and  hell. 

(5)  It  tells  us  how  to  be   good   and   do 
good. 

(6)  It  tells  us  that  God  loves  us  and  will 
forgive  our  sins,  if  we  ask  him. 

(7)  It   tells    us  all   we    need  to   know  of 
God  and  duty. 

Blessed  is  he  who  knows  the   Bible   from 
his  childhood,  and  obeys  it. 


III. 

GOD    OUR    REFUGE. 

The  eternal  God  is  thy  dwelling  place,  and  underneath  are  the 
everlasting  arms. — Deut.   23'  27. 

A  S  I  shall  take  my  texts  from  the  Bible, 
-^^  which  is  the  Word  of  God,  so  I  shall 
have  much  to  say  about  God,  who  is  our 
Father  in  heaven. 

You  all  believe  in  God  ;  you  say  a  great 
deal  about  him ;  you  ask  many  questions 
about  him  ;  and  you  pray  to  him  before  you 
go  to  sleep  at  night. 

I.  God  is  a  person.  He  thinks  and  feels 
and  wills ;  he  hears  and  sees  and  remembers. 
We  can  not  see  him  or  hear  him,  yet  we  can 
see  the  things  which  he  has  made.  And  he 
has  given  us  the  Bible,  and  w^e  may  love  him 
as  he  loves  us,  and  so  we  may  knov/  God  by 
loving  him.  When  the  snow  falls  and  you 
run  out  in  it,  you  leave  foot-prints  in  the 
snow  which  you  and  others  see.  Those  little 
foot-steps  in  the  snow  tell  how  large  you  are, 
which  way  you  are  going,  whether  you  walk 


GOD    OUR  REFUGE.  II 

or  run,  what  kind  of  a  shoe  you  wear.  Now 
God  has  left  foot-prints  which  we  can  see, 
and  which  tell  us  much  about  him,  just  as 
your  foot-prints  in  the  snow  tell  us  about  you. 
The  grass,  the  trees,  the  stars,  the  sun,  the 
moon,  all  tell  us  of  God,  how  great  and  wise 
he  is. 

2.  God  created  all  things.  It  is  true 
that  the  shoe-maker  made  your  shoes  ;  the 
tailor  or  dress-maker  or  your  mother  made 
your  clothes ;  the  clock-maker  made  the 
clock   that    ticks    so    steadily ;    the    cabinet- 

'maker  made  the  furniture ;  the  carpenter 
built  the  house ;  but  God  made  the  leather, 
the  wool,  the  wood,  the  world,  the  stars. 
He  made  man  to  be  like  him  ;  and  so,  as 
God  makes  things  to  be  and  grow,  man 
makes  what  he  can  out  of  the  things  God 
prepares. 

3.  God  is  eternal.  He  never  began  to 
be  and  will  never  cease  to  be.  We  were 
born  and  we  shall  die.  God  was  never  born 
and  will  never  die.  He  is  without  beginning 
or  end  of  days.  He  is  from  everlasting  to 
-^iverlasting,  eternal.  He  lives  forever.  He 
is  the  eternal  God,  as  our  text  says,  and 
his  arms  are  everlasting. 


12  SERMONS  FOR    CHILDREN. 

4.  How  does  God  look  ?  We  can  not  tell, 
for  we  have  never  seen  him.  True,  he  made 
us  In  his  own  likeness,  not  our  bodies, 
but  our  souls.  We  can  see  our  bodies,  our 
hands,  feet,  head ;  but  we  can  not  see  the 
soul  within  our  body,  that  thinks,  feels,  wills. 
No  one  has  ever  seen  the  soul  of  a  man. 
We  are  like  God  in  our  souls,  not  in  our 
bodies.  Our  fingers  can  not  think,  but  our 
souls  can  and  do  think.  In  soul  we  are  like 
God.  Yet  since  we  have  eyes,  and  arms,  and 
feet,  and  a  mouth,  we  speak  of  the  eyes  of 
the  Lord,  the  arms  of  God,  the  mouth  of 
God,  because  it  helps  us  to  understand  God. 
But  we  must  not  think  that  God  has  a  body 
such  as  we  have.  He  is  a  spirit  as  our 
souls  are  spirits.  We  can  not  tell  how  a 
spirit  looks. 

5.  God  is  every- where.  We  are  in  dif- 
ferent seats,  live  in  houses  far  apart,  and  can 
not  often  see  one  another.  God  is  every- 
where. He  sees  us  wherever  we  go.  He 
sees  in  the  night-time  as  well  as  in  the  day- 
light. Your  parents  are  not  with  you 
always,  and  they  can  not  hear  what  you  3ay, 
and  see  what  you  do ;  but  God  is  always 
with  yoii,  to  hear  and  to  see.      Remember 


GOD    OUR  REFUGE.  1 3 

that  God  sees   and  hears  you  all  the    time, 
and  be  afraid  to  say  or  do  any  thing  wrong. 

6.  God  is  a  refuge  for  you.  He  loves  you 
as  your  father  does.  If  you  are  afraid  of 
anything,  you  run  to  your  father  and  lie  takes 
you  in  his  arms  to  keep  you  from  harm.  So 
our  text  tells  us  that  God,  the  eternal  God 
that  never  dies,  is  your  refuge,  and  that  he 
will  put  his  everlasting  arms  beneath  you 
and  keep  you  from  all  harm.  When  you 
are  sick  and  weary,  your  father  puts  his 
strong  arms  underneath  you  and  lifts  you 
up  and  comforts  you.  So  God  comforts  all 
that  need  and  ask  him  for  comfort.  Did  you 
never  sleep  in  your  father's  arms  or  in  your 
mother's  lap  ?  How  sweet  to  sleep  in  the 
arms  of  God,  and  rest  there  forever !  How 
many  little  lambs  has  Jesus  carried  in  his 
bosom !  How  many  has  he  borne  into 
heaven  in  his  loving  arms !  Let  us  flee  to 
him  when  we  are  sorry  for  sin  and  afraid, 
and  he  will  forgive  and  comfort  us. 

7.  Shall  we  ever  see  God?  Yes,  we  shall 
see  him  by-and-by,  and  we  shall  have  to  tell 
him  all  we  have  ever  said  and  done,  the  good 
and  the  bad  alike.  If  we  omit  the  bad  and 
tell  the  good,  he  will    know  it.       Yet  he  Is 


14  SERMONS  FOR    CHILDREN. 

our  kind  Father  in  heaven,  who  sent  his 
Son  Jesus  Christ  to  die  for  our  sins,  that  he 
might  forgive  them.  If  we  repent  of  sin, 
and  turn  from  it,  he  will  forgive  us  our  sins, 
and   heaven  shall  be  our  home  forever. 

There  is  a  God,  who  made  all  things, 
who  is  a  person  as  each  one  of  us  is  a 
person,  who  is  eternal,  spiritual,  every-where 
present ;  who  is  a  safe  refuge  for  us  all  from 
sin  and  sorrow,  and  whom  we  shall  see 
by-and-by.     Let  us  prepare  to  meet  God. 


IV. 

THE   GOSPEL   OF  MATTHEW. 

"The  Gospel  according  to  St.  Matthew." 

TF'  you  will  open  your  New  Testament 
■^  to  the  beginning  of  the  first  book,  you 
will  find  the  text.  And  you  may  well  ask 
what  these  words  mean :  "  The  Gospel 
according  to  St.  Matthew."     I  will  tell  you. 

They  are  the  title  of  the  book.  The  word 
gospel  means  glad  tidings,  good  news, 
and  it  usually  means  the  glad  tidings,  the 
good  news,  of  Christ  Jesus  and  his  salvation. 
This  is  what  we  mean  when  we  speak  of  the 
gospel.  But  in  this  title  it  means  that  the 
first  book  in  the  New  Testament  is  a  history, 
or  narrative,  of  the  life  and  sayings  of  Jesus 
Christ  our  Saviour.     It  is  a  life,  or  biography. 

"  According  to  St.  Matthew "  means  that 
the  history,  life,  biography,  was  written  out 
by  a  disciple  of  Christ  by  the  name  of 
Matthew.  Saint  is  not  found  in  the  Greek, 
but  it  means  a  true  disci[)le  of  Christ ;  nor 


1 6  SERMONS  FOR    CHILDREN. 

is  the  word  gospel  found  In  the  Greek  title, 
but  only  :   "  According  to  Matthew." 

Thus  the  title  means  that  the  book  Is  a 
history,  or  true  story,  of  the  life  and  sayings 
of  Jesus  Christ,  written  by  a  true  disciple 
called  Matthew. 

I.  But  w^ho  was  Matthew  ?  He  was  a  Jew 
who  had  been  a  Roman  custom-house  officer. 
He  had  heard  Jesus  preach,  had  seen  his 
miracles,  and  was  made  a  disciple  In  this 
way :  Jesus  went  by  the  toll-house  one  day, 
where  Matthew  was  taking  customs,  and  he 
said  to  Matthew :  ''  Follow  me,"  and  Mat- 
thew left  every  thing  and  followed  him.  He 
did  not  delay,  but  became  a  disciple  at  once. 
He  was  so  glad  that  he  made  Jesus  a  great 
feast  In  his  own  house  and  invited  in  his 
friends.  Read  Mark  2  :  13-17.  Jesus  after- 
wards chose  Matthew  one  of  the  twelve 
apostles.  Matthew  had  another  name,  Levi ; 
so  Matthew  and  Levi  are  names  of  the  same 
man.  Matthias,  chosen  to  fill  the  place  of 
Judas  Iscarlot,  was  another  man  (Acts 
I  :   26). 

After  Matthew  was  called  to  be  a  disciple, 
he  went  with  Jesus  every-where,  heard  his 
teaching  and   preaching,  saw  his   cures  and 


THE    GOSPEL    OF  MATTHEW. 


17 


miracles,  his  trial,  crucifixion,  and  death. 
He  was  also  a  witness  of  his  resurrection 
and  his  ascent  into  heaven.  He  knew  all 
about  what  Jesus  said  and  did  ;  he  preached 
Jesus  Christ  to  the  Jews,  and  wrote  the  first 
book  of  the  New  Testament,  ''The  Gospel 
according  to  St.  Matthew."  When  and  where 
he  died,  or  was  put  to  death,  we  do  not 
know. 

2.  When  did  Matthew  write  his  Gospel? 
We  can  not  tell  exactly ;  but  as  he  was  as  old 
or  older  than  Jesus  in  the  flesh,  he  must 
have  written  it  near  the  time  of  the  events. 
He  wrote  it  before  the  year  of  our  Lord  66  ; 
some  say  a.d.  '^%.  Matthew  had  been  all  the 
time  preaching  the  gospel  of  Christ  until  he 
wrote  the  first  book  in  the  New  Testament. 
He  knew  what  he  was  writing  about,  and 
so  did  others.  Had  he  told  what  was  not 
true,  they  would  have  corrected  him.  He 
wrote  when  many  still  lived  who  had  seen 
Jesus  Christ. 

3.  Why  did  Matthew  write  his  Gospel? 
He  wrote  it  to  give  the  proof  that  Jesus  is 
the  Christ,  the  Son  of  God,  the  Saviour  of 
the  world,  that  the  Jews  might  believe  on 
him  and  be  saved.     He  wrote  his  Gospel  for 


1 8  SERMONS  FOR    CHILDREN. 

a  purpose.  "  It  presents  Christ  as  the  last 
and  greatest  Law-giver  and  Prophet ;  as  the 
Fulfiller  of  the  Old  Testament ;  as  the  Messiah 
and  King  of  the  true  people  of  Israel." 
Hence  the  words  and  deeds  of  Jesus  are 
arranged  In  order,  just  as  I  arrange  my  ser- 
mons under  heads.  They  are  not  given  one 
after  another  as  they  occurred.  He  quoted 
a  great  deal  from  the  Old  Testament  because 
the  prophets  said  a  great  deal  about  the 
coming  Messiah,  and  because  the  Jews  heard 
the  Old  Testament  read  every  Sabbath  day 
and  believed  it.  They  thought  that  God 
revealed  it  from  heaven  through  the  prophets, 
as  he  did.  But  God  guided  and  inspired 
Matthew  when  he  wrote  his  Gospel  as  really 
as  he  did  Moses  and  the  prophets. 

4.  How,  then,  should  we  read  the  Gospel 
according  to  St.  Matthew  ?  We  should  read 
it  as  a  true  record,  written  by  one  who  saw 
and  heard  what  he  tells,  w^ho  was  a  witness 
of  what  he  preached  and  wrote,  but  who  did 
not  give  all  that  Jesus  said  and  did.  Had  he 
given  all,  his  book  would  have  been  too  large 
for  use.  So  he  wrote  only  what  is  needful 
to  show  that  Jesus  was  the  Messiah,  the 
One  that  the  Old  Testament  foretold  should 


THE    GOSPEL    OF  MATTHEW.  1 9 

come.  Jesus  said  to  the  Jews :  ''  Ye  search 
the  scriptures,  because  ye  think  that  in  them 
ye  have  eternal  Hfe ;  and  these  are  they 
which  bear  witness  of  me."  Let  us  read  the 
Gospel  of  Matthew  very  carefully  and 
constantly,  that  we  may  believe  in  Jesus  the 
Christ. 

I  will  close  with  some  questions,  and  I 
want  you  to  learn  the  answers  by  heart  and 
remember  them :  — 

(i)  What  is  the  first  book  of  the  New 
Testament  called  ? 

The  first  book  of  the  New  Testament  is 
called  "  The  Gospel  according  to  St.  Mat- 
thew." 

(2)  Why  is  it  called  the  Gospel  ? 

It  is  called  the  Gospel  because  it  gives 
glad  tidings,  as  shown  in  the  life  and  words 
of  our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ. 

(3)  Who  wrote  this  Gospel  ? 

This  Gospel  was  written  by  Matthew,  who 
was  also  called  Levi. 

(4)  Why  is  he  called  Saint  Matthew  ? 

He  is  called  Saint  Matthew  because  he 
was  a  true  disciple  of  Jesus  Christ,  whose  dis- 
ciples are  all  saints. 

(5)  Who  was  Matthew? 


20  SERMONS  FOR    CHILDREN. 

Matthew  was  a  Jew,  and  one  of  the  twelve 
apostles. 

(6)  Why  did  he  write  his  Gospel  ? 

He  wrote  his  Gospel  to  prove  to  the  Jews 
that  Jesus  is  the  Christ,  the  Messiah  of  God, 
the  Saviour  of  sinners. 

(7)  When  did  he  write  it  ? 

He  wrote  it  before  the  year  of  our  Lord 
66. 

(8)  How  should  we  read  it  ? 

We  should  read  it  as  a  true  story  of  what 
Jesus  said,  did,  and  suffered. 

(9)  Why  did  Jesus  suffer  death  ? 

Jesus  suffered  death  for  the  sins  of  the 
world,  that  every  man,  woman,  and  child 
might   be  saved. 

(10)  Can  Jesus  now  save? 

Yes ;  for  Jesus  is  the  same  yesterday,  and 
to-day,  and  forever.  He  can  save  all  who 
believe  in  Him. 


V. 

AIMING    AT    HIGH    THINGS. 

Set  youf  mind  on  the  things  that  are  above,  not  on  the  things 
that  are  upon  the  earth.  —  Col.  3 :  2. 

TF  you  should  shoot  an  arrow  at  the 
^  ground,  you  would  hit  the  ground,  but 
rto  one  would  praise  you  for  It.  If,  how- 
ever, you  should  aim  at  a  very  small  mark 
and  should  hit  it,  all  would  praise  you  for 
your  skill.  To  shoot  downwards  and  hit  the 
great  earth,  any  body  can  do  that ;  but  to 
shoot  upwards  and  hit  a  small  mark,  very 
few  can  do  it,  for  it  takes  a  long  time  to 
learn  to  do  it,  and  few  have  patience  enough 
to  get  the  skill  to  do  it.  It  is  said  that 
Indians  put  their  boys'  dinners  on  limbs  of 
trees,  and  the  boys  must  shoot  them  down 
before  they  can  have  them.  Thus  they 
learn  to  shoot  straight. 

Paul  told  the  church  at  Colossae  —  and  the 
children  that  were  in  it  —  to  set  their  mind 
on  the  things  that  are  above,  where  Christ 
is,  and  not  on  the  things  which  are  upon  the 


2  2  SERMONS  FOR    CHILDREN. 

earth,  which  is  under  our  feet.  He  tells  us 
to  do  the  same.  But  to  do  it,  we  must  aim 
at  the  high  things,  not  at  the  low ;  we  must 
set  our  mind  on  the  best  things,  not  on  the 
mean  ;  we  must  shoot  at  the  stars,  and  not  at 
the  ground. 

Our  text  tells  you,  boys  and  girls,  to  aim 
at  high  things,  and  to  keep  aiming  at  them 
until  you  hit  them.  You  are  to  set  your 
mind  on  them,  to  study  how  you  may  make 
the  high  things  your  own.  Let  us  see  how 
you  may  do  this. 

1.  In  the  home  there  are  high  and  low 
things,  and  you  should  set  your  mind  on  the 
best  things  there  and  strive  for  them  until 
you  win  them.  You  should  aim  to  be  the 
very  best  boy  or  girl  in  the  home,  in  good 
manners,  in  kind  treatment  of  one  another, 
in  ready  obedience  to  your  parents,  in  tender 
love,  in  every  thing.  If  you  fail  now  and 
then,  try  again,  and  still  again  until  you  suc- 
ceed. Hit  this  high  mark  in  the  home  :  for 
if  you  are  a  good  child  at  home,  you  will  be 
a  good  man  or  woman,  husband  or  wife. 

2.  There  are  high  and  low  things  in  play, 
and  you  should  mind  the  high  and  shun  the 
low.     You  should  be  fair  in  play  and  never 


AIMING   AT  HIGH   THINGS. 


23 


unfair,  truthful  and  never  untruthful,  kind 
and  never  unkind,  ready  and  never  dull, 
skillful  and  never  unskillful.  Set  your  mind 
on  being  ready,  skillful,  kind,  truthful,  and 
honest  in  play :  for  these  are  the  high  things 
you  should  aim  at. 

3.  There  are  high  and  low  things  in  school. 
You  can  play  in  school,  have  poor  lessons, 
and  be  a  bad  scholar  ;  or  you  can  study,  get 
good  lessons,  be  a  good  scholar,  and  behave 
as  you  ought.  Now  on  which  will  you  set 
your  mind  ?  Let  me  tell  you.  Get  every 
lesson  perfectly.  Make  no  failures.  Behave 
the  best  you  can.  Make  your  conduct  and 
scholarship  perfect.     Aim  at  the  high  things. 

4.  There  are  high  and  low  things  in  learn- 
ing a  trade.  Aim  at  the  high.  Do  not  slight 
any  part  of  the  trade.  You  may  think  it  to 
b^  a  trifle.  Perfection  comes  from  minding 
trifles.  You  want  the  highest  skill  in  your 
trade,  to  be  in  it  a  skilled  workman.  Then 
put  your  mind  into  it.  Slight  nothing.  Do 
every  thing  in  the  quickest  and  best  way. 
Aim  at  the  highest. 

5.  There  are  high  and  low  things  in  the 
store,  in  the  office,  on  the  farm,  in  every  kind 
of  honorable  work.     Do  you  think  the  work 


24  SERMONS  FOR    CHILDREN. 

hard?  Never  mind  that;  but  mind  to  do 
your  best  in  it.  Keep  your  mind  on  the 
work  in  hand.  Master  every  Httle  and  every 
great  thing  in  it.  You  can  not  do  any  thing 
well  without  care  and  attention. 

6.  Aim  high  in  every  thing.  Always  try 
to  do  the  best  you  can,  in  whatever  circum- 
stances God  places  you.  The  high  and  the 
low  are  in  every  calling,  in  every  thing  we 
do.  Set  your  mind  on  the  best,  and  weary 
not  until  you  win  it. 

7.  But  Paul  looked  above  the  things  of 
earth,  and  said  :  "  Seek  the  things  that  are 
above,  where  Christ  is,  seated  on  the  right 
hand  of  God.  Set  your  mind  on  the  things 
that  are  above,  not  on  the  things  that  are 
upon  the  earth."  God  is  in  heaven.  Christ 
is  in  heaven.  We  want  to  go  to  heaven 
when  we  die.  Let  us,  therefore,  mind  the 
things  of  God,  of  Christ,  of  heaven.  To  do 
this  we  must  study  God's  Word  the  Bible  ; 
we  must  attend  church  ;  we  must  love,  serve, 
and  obey  God  ;  we  must  love  one  another ; 
we  must  always  do  what  is  right  and  shun 
what  is  wrong ;  we  must  keep  his  command- 
ments. You  are  not  too  young  to  do  this. 
The    youngest   can    love    and    obey    Christ. 


AIMING  AT  HIGH  THINGS. 


25 


God  is  love,  and  gave  his  only-begotten  Son 
Jesus  Christ  to  die  on  the  cross  for  your  sins. 
He  sends  his  Holy  Spirit  to  lead  you  to 
Christ,  that  you  may  tell  him  your  sins  and 
ask  him  to  forgive  you.  When,  therefore, 
you  do  any  thing  wrong,  and  feel  sorry  for  it, 
go  and  confess  it  to  Christ,  as  you  confess  to 
your  mother,  and  ask  him  to  forgive  you 
and  to  make  you  better.  Then  be  careful 
not  to  do  the  wrong  again  for  his  sake  who 
forgave  you.  Jesus  will  thus  help  you  to 
mind  the  heavenly  things.  You  will  think  on 
the  things  that  are  above.  You  will  set  your 
mind  on  them,  and  God  will  guide  your  feet 
into  heaven. 


VI. 

THE   OBEDIENCE    OF   SOLDIERS. 

Obey  them  that  have  the  rule  over  you,  and  submit  to  them.  — 
Heb.  13:  17. 

TF  one  goes  Into  the  army,  as  General  Grant 
^  did,  he  has  to  obey  orders.  No  matter 
who  he  is,  or  what  he  is,  or  how  old  he  is,  he 
must  obey  them  that  have  the  rule  over  him. 
Even  the  son  of  a  king-  or  queen  or  of  the 
President  must  obey.  The  officers  as  well  as 
the  privates  obey  orders,  and  that  without  a 
word.  They  do  not  ask  :  "  Why  should  we 
do  this  ?  "  They  do  not  think  It  a  dishonor 
to  obey,  but  a  dishonor  not  to  obey.  For  If 
they  do  not  obey,  they  are  arrested  at  once 
and  punished  ;  and  so  they  obey  without  a 
word. 

You,  children,  sometimes  sing  :  "  We  are 
little  soldiers,"  etc.  And  the  thing  for  you 
to  do  as  soldiers  Is  to  obey  them  that  have 
the  rule  over  you,  and  submit  to  them  with- 
out a  word.     For  :  — 

I.  This    Is    the    only    true    obedience.     If 

26 


THE    OBEDIENCE    OF  SOLDIERS. 


27 


one  who  has  the  rule  over  you,  as  your 
parents,  your  teachers,  or  your  pastor,  tells 
you  to  do  something,  you  obey  if  you  do  it 
at  once  without  asking  questions  ;  but  if  you 
ask  the  reason  why,  and  wait  for  them  to 
explain  the  matter  before  you  obey,  it  is  the 
same  as  saying,  ''  I  am  not  going  to  obey 
until  I  see  whether  it  is  best  or  not.  If  you 
want  me  to  do  any  thing,  you  must  explain  it 
to  me  so  that  I  can  judge  for  myself  what  I 
ought  to  do.  If  I  like  it,  I  will  obey;  if  I 
do  not  like  it,  I  will  not  obey." 

No  soldier  would  ever  say  this,  for  this  is 
not  obedience  to  those  who  have  the  rule, 
but  obedience  to  one's  own  judgment.  True 
obedience  never  asks  what  or  why,  but  does 
the  thing  required  without  a  word. 

2.  Soldiers  obey  when  it  is  hard  to  obey. 
They  are  ordered  to  make  long  marches,  to 
go  into  battles,  where  they  may  be  killed, 
but  they  obey.  Hard  things  do  not  hinder 
them.  When  they  enlisted,  it  was  to  do  not 
only  the  easy  things,  but  the  hard  things  as 
well ;  and  it  is  the  hard  things  that  give  the 
greater  glory  to  the  soldier.  The  hard 
fought  battles,  if  won,  give  them  the  greatest 
honor. 


28  SERMONS  FOR    CHILDREN. 

So  it  is  of  the  soldiers  of  the  cross.  They 
are  to  endure  hardness  as  good  soldiers. 
They  are  to  obey  the  hard  orders  because 
they  are  commanded  to  do  so.  Paul  and 
Peter  were  glad  to  die  in  the  service  ;  for 
Jesus  their  great  Captain  had  died  on  the 
cross  for  them,  setting  them  an  example.  I 
do  not  think  much  of  the  boy  who  is  afraid 
of  hard  things,  hard  study,  hard  work,  hard 
play.  I  like  the  boy  who  obeys  though  it 
costs  him  weary  hands  and  feet,  who  is  not 
afraid  to  do  any  thing  commanded  him. 

3.  The  soldier  carries  heavy  burdens  — 
his  gun,  his  powder  and  balls,  his  knapsack, 
sometimes  his  food  and  drink.  He  carries 
whatever  is  needful  for  the  battle  and  for  the 
camp.  Thus  loaded  down  he  marches  long 
marches  and  fights  bitter  battles. 

Yet  Christ  says  to  those  who  are  his 
soldiers  :  "  My  yoke  is  easy,  and  my  burden 
is  light."  However  hard  it  may  look,  it  is 
easy  and  light;  for  the  heart  is  in  it,  and 
when  the  heart  is  in  any  thing  it  makes  it 
easy.  You  know  how  it  is,  boys  and  girls. 
If  you  don't  want  to  do  a  thing,  how  hard  it 
is  to  do  it.  It  looks  like  a  great  task.  You 
fret  and  fuss  over  it.     But  if  you  want  to  do 


THE    OBEDIENCE    OF  SOLDIERS. 


29 


even  a  harder  thing,  you  think  it  easy,  you 
make  it  easy,  because  your  heart  is  in  it. 
Now  Christ's  burdens  are  Hght  to  those  that 
obey  him,  for  their  heart  is  in  the  work. 

4.  The  rewards  of  the  soldier  who  does 
his  duty  are  great.  His  country  honors  him, 
and  often  rewards  him  with  a  pension.  If 
he  be  a  great  general,  like  General  Grant, 
what  great  honors  are  bestowed  upon  him  by 
the  people  and  the  nations  of  the  earth ! 
He  was  a  faithful  soldier  of  his  country.  He 
obeyed  them  who  had  the  rule  over  him. 

But  these  rewards  are  little  when  placed 
by  the  side  of  God's  rewards  to  the  soldiers 
of  the  cross.  God  loves  them.  He  crowns 
them  with  a  crown  that  never  fades.  He 
gives  them  heaven.  He  does  for  them  more 
than  this  country  has  done  for  her  soldiers ; 
for  none  of  the  honors  God  gives  can  be  lost 
or  taken  away.  They  are  everlasting,  in 
heaven. 

Do  you  want  to  be  soldiers?  Then  enlist 
in  the  army  of  the  Lord,  and  be  faithful  and 
true.  Obey  orders  without  a  word.  Obey 
when  it  costs  you  something  to  do  so,  when 
you  have  heavy  burdens  to  bear ;  for  the  re- 
wards of  the  Christian  soldier  are  very  great. 


30 


SERMONS  FOR    CHILDREN. 


They   never   fade    away.     There    is    another 
reason : — 

5.  There  is  dishonor  in  not  obeying.  This 
is  so  great,  that  if  General  Grant  had  dis- 
obeyed orders,  he  would  have  been  dismissed 
from  the  army  in  disgrace ;  perhaps  he  would 
have  been  sentenced  to  be  shot.  So  his 
great  honors  came  to  him  through  his  obedi- 
ence. Let  us  remember  this,  when  we  read 
about  him  and  what  he  did ;  and  then  let  us 
also  obey  those  who  have  the  rule  over  us  — 
our  parents,  teachers,  rulers,  and  God.  We 
can  obey,  or  we  can  disobey.  If  we  obey, 
we  do  what  is  right,  and  God  will  bless  us. 
If  we  disobey,  we  do  what  is  wrong,  and  dis- 
grace comes  upon  us,  and  God  will  punish  us 
for  it. 


VII. 
MAKING  THE    MOST   OF   SCHOOL. 

Whatsoever  thy  hand  findeth  to  do,  do  it  with  thy  might.  —  Eccles. 
9:   10. 

T  WISH  to  say  a  few  things  to  those  who 

^     attend  school. 

The  text  tells  us  to  do  with  our  might  what 
our  hands  find  to  do.  You  play  with  all  your 
might,  and  so  far  you  obey  the  text.  When 
you  are  called  into  the  school-room,  do  you 
study  with  all  your  might  ?  Your  lessons 
answer  the  question. 

1.  Do  not  stay  away  from  school.  The 
schools  are  free  to  all,  and  you  may  not  think 
so  much  of  them  because  they  are  free.  If 
you  paid  for  them,  or  had  to  work  for  them, 
you  would  not  miss  a  day,  unless  you  were 
sick.  Do  not  miss  a  day,  or  half  a  day,  if 
you  can  help  it.  Be  in  your  seat  when  school 
opens,  with  books  all  ready  for  study. 

2.  Be  careful  of  your  books.  Do  not 
mark,  tear,  or  soil  them.  Keep  them  neat 
and  clean.  Do  not  open  them  too  wide ;  if 
you    do,   the    leaves    will    come    out.      Your 


32  SERMONS  FOR    CHILDREN. 

books  cost  a  great  sum,  and  you  should  make 
them  last  as  long  as  you  can.  Your  brother 
or  sister  may  want  to  use  your  books  after 
you  get  done  with  them.  What  a  shame  to 
leave  the  books  dirty,  torn,  marked  up,  when 
by  care  you  can  keep  them  almost  as  good 
as  new. 

3.  Begin  at  the  beginning.  If  you  skip  a 
few  of  the  first  lessons,  or  get  them  poorly, 
you  will  be  lame  in  that  study,  unless  you 
make  them  up. 

If  you  were  to  run  a  race  with  others,  you 
would  want  to  start  together.  You  would 
not  let  one  boy  start  first,  nor  would  you 
want  to  eo  ahead  and  then  wait  for  the  rest 
to  come  running  up  with  all  their  might ;  for 
you  could  not  catch  up  with  them  again. 
You  would  lose  the  race.  So  it  is  in 
study.  If  you  do  not  begin  at  the  be- 
ginning, but  run  ahead,  or  if  you  stay  out 
of  school  awhile,  those  who  begin  at  the 
beginning  will  get  ahead  of  you,  and  you 
can  not  catch  up  with  them.  The  lessons  you 
skipped  will  hinder  you.  You  do  not  have  a 
fair  chance.  Begin  then  at  the  beginning 
with  the  rest,  then  you  can  understand  each 
lesson,  and  keep  up. 


MAKING    THE  MOST   OF  SCHOOL. 


Zl 


4.  Get  every  lesson.  This  is  a  short  rule. 
It  has  but  three  words.  Can  you  repeat  it  ? 
Well,  remember  it.  Why  learn  every  lesson  ? 
Because  it  is  given  you  to  learn  ;  because  it 
will  do  you  good  to  learn  it ;  because  if  you 
do  not  learn  it,  you  can  not  understand  so 
well  the  lessons  which  follow  it ;  and  because, 
if  you  do  get  it,  the  other  lessons  will  be 
easier  to  learn  and  understand.  It  is  bad  to 
skip  one  lesson,  but  worse  to  skip  two  or 
three  or  more.  You  have  learned  to  run  up 
and  down  stairs  very  fast.  If  now  one  step 
should  be  taken  out,  could  you  get  over  it  ? 
You  might ;  but  if  two,  three,  or  four  steps 
should  be  taken  out,  you  could  not  get  over 
the  place.  So  if  you  miss  one,  two,  three,  or 
more  lessons  of  a  book,  how  hard  it  will  be 
for  you  to  get  over  the  place.  Hence,  get 
every  lesson,   and  get  it  well. 

5.  Fix  your  mind  on  study.  You  go  to 
school  not  to  play,  but  to  study.  Now,  when 
you  play,  you  fix  your  mind  on  it.  You  are 
quick  to  see  and  do.  Do  the  same  in  study. 
Do  not  be  thinking  of  play  all  the  time. 
Do  not  gaze  about.  Do  not  drone  over  your 
book.  Bend  your  mind  on  the  lesson.  If 
your  mind  is  on  something  else,  you  can  not 


34  SERMONS  FOR    CHILDREN. 

Study  well.  Hence,  make  study  your  chief 
business  at  school. 

No  scholars  can  do  well  who  are  thinking 
of  parties  half  the  time  ;  and  no  scholars  can 
have  parties  without  having  their  minds  filled 
with  them.  Do  not  tease  your  parents  for 
parties,  either  to  have  them  or  to  attend  them  ; 
for  if  they  are  so  foolish  as  to  gratify  you, 
you  will  fall  behind  in  your  classes,  until  in 
shame  your  parents  will  take  you  out  of 
school,  or  send  you  away.  You  can  not  do 
justice  to  your  lessons,  and  give  your  nights 
to  parties. 

6.  Be  honest  in  recitation.  If  you  have 
not  learned  your  lesson  well,  you  will  be 
tempted  to  cheat  in  your  recitation,  by  slyly 
peeping  into  the  book,  or  you  will  get  some 
one  to  tell  you.  Now  this  is  not  right.  Do 
not  lean  on  your  book  or  on  others  to  help 
you  out  in  recitation.  And  let  no  one  neglect 
study,  and  then  cram  up  just  before  examina- 
tion. No  matter  how  well  you  study,  you 
will  need  to  review.  But  do  honest  study  in 
the  school,  and  review  honestly  and  well.  If 
then  you  can  not  pass,  make  an  honest  failure  ; 
for  an  honest  boy  or  girl  is  better  than  a  great 
scholar. 


MAKING    THE   MOST   OF  SCHOOL. 


35 


7.  Improve  the  time.  You  are  one  year 
older  than  you  were  a  year  ago.  By-and-by 
your  school  days  will  be  over.  You  need 
therefore  to  make  the  most  of  them,  and  get 
all  the  education  you  can.  In  some  countries 
not  one  half  of  those  ten  years  old  and  over 
can  read  and  write.  And  when  schools  were 
opened,  men  and  women  went  to  them  with 
the  children,  all  eager  to  learn.  So  you 
should  improve  the  time,  and  study  with 
your  might  when  at  school. 
Mind  these  seven  things  :  — 
(i)   Do  not  stay  away  from  school. 

(2)  Be  careful  of  your  books. 

(3)  Begin  at  the  beginning. 

(4)  Get  every  lesson. 

(5)  Fix  your  mind  on  your  studies.  - 

(6)  Be  honest  in  recitations. 

(7)  Improve  the  time. 

"  Whatsoever  thy  hand  findeth  to  do,  do  it 
with  thy  might." 

And  may  God  bless  you,  children,  with 
obedience  and  love  and  piety,  that  you  may 
be  Christ's  dear  children. 


VIII. 

MAKING  THE    BEST   OF  EVERY 
THING. 

And  God  saw  every  thing  that  he  had  made,  and,  behold,  it  was 
very  good, — Gen.  i :   31. 

'THHERE  are  two  ways  of  looking  at  every 
^  thing  and  two  ways  of  speaking  of 
every  thing.  One  way  is  to  see  all  the  bad 
there  is  in  it,  and  to  speak  of  it,  and  so  to 
find  fault  with  every  thing  and  every  body. 
The  other  way  is  to  see  what  good  there  is  in 
it,  and  to  speak  of  it  to  others.  This  is  God's 
way.  When  he  had  created  the  sun,  moon, 
stars,  and  the  earth,  and  all  that  in  them  is, 
he  "  saw  every  thing  that  he  had  made,  and, 
behold,  it  was  very  good."  Now  which  is 
the  better  way,  to  find  the  good  in  every 
thing,  or  to  find  the  bad  in  every  thing  ? 
Let  us  see  which  is  better. 

You  will  see  the  importance  of  this  ques- 
tion when  you  think  how  easy  it  is  to  form 
the  habit  of  finding  fault  or  of  finding  good 
in  every  thing.     We  fall  easily  into  habits,  — 

36 


MAKING    THE  BEST   OF  EVERY   THING.      37 

into  the  habit  of  carrying  our  hands  in  our 
pockets,  of  throwing  our  caps  down  anywhere, 
of  biting  the  finger-nails,  of  doing  every  thing 
we  do  in  a  certain  way  and  not  in  another 
w^ay,  —  and  so  we  fall  into  the  habit  of  seeing 
spots,  defects,  wrongs,  whatever  is  bad,  or 
into  the  habit  of  seeing  the  good  there  is  in 
every  thing,  and  speaking  of  it.  We  are 
creatures  of  habit,  and  when  a  habit  is  once 
formed  it  is  hard  breaking  it.  This  we  all 
know  who  have  tried  to  break  off  a  bad  habit. 
Another  thing  I  want  you  to  remember. 
It  is  this  :  that  as  we  form  good  or  bad  habits, 
we  shall  be  happy  or  miserable.  But  that  is 
not  all :  as  we  form  good  or  bad  habits,  we 
make  others  happy  or  miserable.  And  this 
is  not  all :  just  as  we  form  good  or  bad  habits, 
we  please  or  displease  God.  Remember 
these  three  things. 

But  you  say  that  there  are  so  many  things 
wrong  that  v/e  can  not  help  finding  fault  with 
them.  No  doubt  if  you  had  looked  out  on 
the  world  which  God  made,  at  the  time  it  was 
finished,  you  would  have  found  many  things 
to  find  fault  with,  —  the  weather,  the  rain  and 
snow,  the  heat  and  cold,  the  snakes  and  flies, 
and  other  things  too  numerous  to  mention,  — 


^S  SERMONS  FOR    CHILDREN. 

but  God  called  them  all  "  very  good."  And 
now  we  have  plenty  of  things  to  fret  at  and 
find  fault  with,  if  we  will  only  form  the  habit 
of  doing  so.  But  there  are  reasons  why  we 
should  make  the  best  of  every  thing  ;  and 
we  will  tell  you  what  they  are,  that  you  may 
form  the  habit  of  looking  always  on  the  bright 
side. 

I .  Your  own  good  should  lead  you  to  make 
the  best  of  every  thing.  To  pick  out  flaws, 
to  see  defects,  to  find  all  the  ugly  and  bad 
things,  and  to  dwell  on  them,  is  not  good  for 
your  own  soul.  There  is  nothing  cheering 
and  ennobling  in  it.  If  you  have  ten  apples, 
nine  of  them  good  and  one  bad,  it  is  folly  for 
you  to  fret  over  the  one  bad  apple  so  as  to 
lose  the  good  of  eating  the  nine  sweet  apples. 
So,  if  there  were  nine  good  things  and  one 
bad,  make  the  most  of  the  nine  and  let  the 
one  go.  Or,  if  there  were  nine  bad  and  only 
one  good,  it  were  wise  to  make  the  best  of 
the  one  and  let  the  nine  go.  What  is  the 
use  of  spoiling  the  good  because  of  the  bad  ? 
Our  own  happiness  depends  on  our  passing 
by  the  bad  and  seeing  what  is  good.  This  is 
one  reason  why  we  should  make  the  best  of 
every  thing.     When   I  was  a  boy  my  mother 


MAKING    THE  BEST   OF  EVERY   THING. 


39 


told  me  a  story  about  a  woman  who  had  a 
great  many  troubles  and  hardships  and  trials, 
more  than  any  one  of  us  have  ever  had  to  bear. 
Every  thing  seemed  to  go  against  her ;  yet 
she  was  one  of  the  happiest  beings  that  ever 
lived.  Others,  who  did  not  have  half  so 
much  to  try  them  as  she  had,  were  miserable 
and  fretful  and  fault-finding.  What  made 
her  so  happy  in  her  poverty  ?  This  :  she  saw 
the  good  in  every  thing,  and  her  loving 
heavenly  Father's  hand  behind  every  thing ; 
and  so  she  used  to  say  when  any  new  trouble 
came  to  her :  ''It  is  all  for  the  best ;  it  Is  all 
for  the  best."  She  got  out  of  every  thing  all 
the  good  there  was  in  it,  and  let  the  bad  go. 
But  if  she  had  looked  at  the  bad  and  talked 
of  it,  she  would  have  made  herself  miserable 
indeed.  She  would  have  been  fretful,  cross, 
fault-finding,  unhappy,  as  miserable  as  some 
of  us  make  ourselves  over  our  little  troubles. 
A  mother  told  me  the  other  day  that  her 
boy  had  once  fallen  from  a  tree  and  cut  his 
face,  and  that  for  a  long  time  she  had  mourned 
over  the  scar  that  was  left,  until  one  day  it 
flashed  into  her  mind  how  uno-rateful   it  was 

o 

to  grieve  over  the  scar  when  her  boy  had  not 
been  killed  by  the  fall.     After  that  she  never 


40  SERMONS  FOR    CHILDREN. 

saw  the  scar  without  joy  that  her  child  had 
been  spared.  She  at  first  looked  on  the  dark 
side,  then  on  the  bright  side,  and  where  be- 
fore she  had  sorrow,  now  she  has  gladness  of 
heart.  May  we  not  find  joy  by  looking  on 
the  bright  side  of  things  ? 

2.  The  good  of  others  should  lead  us  to 
make  the  best  of  every  thing.  We  help  to 
make  others  happy  or  miserable.  We  ought 
to  do  what  we  can  to  make  them  happy,  and 
we  shall,  if  we  look  on  the  bright  side  of 
things.  But  if  we  tell  over  to  them  every 
pain,  ache,  and  trouble  we  have,  we  shall 
make  ourselves  and  them  miserable.  If  we, 
on  the  other  hand,  see  the  good  things 
God  has  done  for  us,  and  speak  of  them,  and 
smile  through  our  tears,  and  feel  and  say  that 
all  is  for  the  best,  we  shall  fill  their  lives  with 
joy  and  gladness.  We  shall  make  them 
happy. 

We  want  you,  then,  to  make  the  best  of 
every  thing.  Say  w^ith  God  :  ''  Behold,  it  was 
very  good."  Do  not  get  into  the  habit  of 
finding  fault,  for  it  is  wrong  to  do  so.  It 
makes  you  miserable  and  others  miserable. 
Nobody  will  like  you,  for  no  one  likes  a  fault- 
finder.    Do   not   look  at   defects,  but  at  the 


MAKING    THE  BEST   OF  EVERY   THING.      4 1 

good  points.  See  what  good  there  is  in 
every  thing  and  every  body ;  point  it  out, 
talk  about  it.  Live  on  the  sunny  side  of  the 
house,  not  on  the  shady  side  ;  in  the  good 
God  has  made,  not  in  the  evil  men  do.  In 
this  way  you  will  bless  yourself  and  others, 
and  make  life  happy  and  useful.  Try  it, 
children  ;   make  the  best  of  every  thing. 


IX. 

SACRED    PLACES   AND   THINGS. 

And   he   would   not  suffer  that  any  man  should  carry  a  vessel 
through  the  temple.  —  Mark  ii:  i6. 

nPHE  temple  was  the  temple  at  Jerusalem 
-*-  built  by  King  Solomon  and  twice 
rebuilt.  It  was  a  very  costly  and  beautiful 
building.  There  is  no  building  in  the  world 
now  that  is  equal  to  the  temple  in  Jerusalem 
when  first  built,  or  even  when  Jesus  cleansed 
it,  or  certainly  not  more  than  one. 

A  temple  is  a  building  erected  for  worship, 
and  the  temple  in  Jerusalem  was  dedicated 
to  the  worship  of  God.  It  was  a  holy,  sacred 
place  ;  so  holy  and  sacred  that  a  great  many 
things  which  might  be  done  in  other  places 
could  not  be  done  there.  You  know  how  it 
is  in  your  homes,  children.  There  is  a 
difference  between  places  and  things.  You 
would  not  do  in  your  mother's  parlor  what 
you  would  in  your  play-room.  You  would 
not  treat  your  Bible  as  you  would  your 
picture-book.     If  your  little  sister  had  died, 


SACRED  PLACES  AND    THINGS.  43 

and  your  mother  should  show  you  a  lock  of 
her  hair,  you  would  gaze  at  it,  but  hardly 
touch  it,  because  it  was  your  dead  sister's 
hair.  So  men  should  not  do  in  a  temple  or 
in  a  church  where  God  is  worshiped  what 
it  would  be  right  and  proper  for  them  to  do 
in  other  places,  because  it  is  God's  holy 
house. 

The  Jews  had  not  been  careful  enough 
about  their  temple  ;  they  had  suffered  cattle 
and  doves  to  be  sold  in  the  sacred  place. 
Jesus  did  not  like  to  have  his  Father's  house 
treated  thus,  and  so,  near  the  beginning  of 
his  ministry,  he  made  a  scourge  or  whip  of 
cords  and  drove  out  the  sheep  and  oxen,  and 
those  who  sold  doves,  and  those  who  changed 
money.  But  when  he  left,  they  came  back 
again  with  their  traffic  into  the  temple.  So 
he  again,  just  before  he  was  betrayed  and  put 
to  death  on  the  cross,  drove  them  out, 
and  said  :  ''  Is  it  not  written,  My  house  shall  be 
called  a  house  of  prayer  for  all  the  nations  ? 
but  ye  have  made  it  a  den  of  robbers." 
"And  he  would  not  suffer  that  any  man 
should  carry  a  vessel  through  the  temple," 
because  it  was  the  temple  where  God  was 
worshiped,  a  sacred  and  holy  place. 


44 


SERMONS  FOR    CHILDREN. 


It  may  be  that  we  are  not  careful  enough 
about  God's  house,  that  we  defile  it ;  for 
what  the  temple  was  to  the  Jews,  the  church 
edifice  is  to  us.  It  is  the  house  of  prayer,  a 
holy,  sacred  place.  God  is  in  a  church  as  in 
a  holy  temple.  Hence,  what  it  is  right  for 
us  to  do  in  other  places,  it  is  not  right  for  us 
to  do  in  the  church.  We  need  to  remember 
this,  lest  we  displease  God,  and  lest  Jesus 
drive  us  out  of  his  church. 

I  will  tell  you  some  things  that  you  ought 
not  to  do  in  church  :  — 

1.  It  is  not  right  for  you  to  run  and  play 
in  the  church  of  God  as  you  may  in  other 
places;  for  the  church  is  dedicated  to  God 
for  his  worship.     It  is  a  house  of  worship. 

2.  It  is  not  right  for  you  to  trade  in  the 
church,  to  carry  on  any  traffic  there  as  the 
Jews  did,  not  even  when  it  is  done  for  the 
benefit  of  the  church  ;  for  that  is  just  what 
Christ  forbade  when  he  drove  men  out  of 
the  temple.  They  were  trading  there  for 
the  convenience  and  good  of  the  worship- 
ers, yet  Christ  forbade  them,  for  his  Father's 
house  was  a  house  of  prayer. 

3.  Of  course  it  is  not  right  for  you  to  tear 
up  paper  and  throw  it  about  in  the  church. 


SACRED  PLACES  AND    THINGS.  45 

or  litter  up  the  floor  with  any  thing  ;  for  you 
ought  not  to  do  it  on  the  street,  or  in  your 
yards,  or  in  your  homes.  How  much  less 
in  the  house  of  God,  where  every  thing 
should  be  clean  and  fit  for  the  presence  of 
our  King. 

4.  Then  again  it  is  not  right  for  you  to 
mark  the  books  or  the  walls,  or  scratch  the 
pews  and  furniture  by  putting  your  feet 
against  them,  or  any  thing  of  the  sort ;  for 
you  would  not  do  such  things  in  your  own 
homes,  nor  in  a  neighbor's  house,  much  less 
in  a  palace,  and  surely  you  would  not  think  of 
doing  them  in  the  house  of  God. 

All  these  things  are  out  of  place,  un- 
seemly, wTong  in  the  church  now,  as  formerly 
they  were  in  the  temple ;  for  the  church  is 
holy.  But  these  things  are  required  instead 
in  the  house  of  God:  — 

1.  You  should  behave  well.  If  you  be- 
have better  in  your  mother's  parlor  than  in 
your  play-room,  you  should  behave  better 
in  the  house  of  God  than  in  her  parlor ; 
for  God  is  holier  and  greater  than  your 
mother. 

2.  You  should  keep  the  house  of  God 
clean,  free  from  litter,  dirt,  all  markings,  and 


46  SERMONS  FOR    CHILDREN. 

whatever  is  unseemly  in   a  place   where  God 
is  worshiped. 

3.  You  should  be  reverent  in  God's 
church.  It  is  a  good  thing  to  bow  the  head 
or  kneel,  and  offer  a  short  prayer,  when  you 
enter  the  house  of  God ;  to  treat  him  rever- 
ently. A  church  is  more  than  a  hall.  It 
requires  therefore  a  more  reverent  behavior. 

4.  You  should  worship  in  the  house  of 
God.  This  is  what  you  go  to  church  for. 
This  is  what  the  church  is  for.  Nothing 
could  be  ruder  than  play  or  whispering 
during  the  worship  of  God.  They  are  ut- 
terly unbecoming. 

The  church  is  a  sacred  and  holy  place.  It 
is  not  a  common  place,  where  we  may  do 
what  we  please.  It  is  the  house  of  God, 
where  we  are  to  do  only  what  God  pleases. 
And  Jesus  has  told  us  what  we  should  not  do 
in  a  place  or  house  of  prayer.  He  twice  drove 
out  and  cleared  the  temple  of  what  was  un- 
seemly in  that  holy  place.  May  we  shun  all 
that  may  displease  him,  as  we  worship  in  his 
church. 


X. 

GOOD  MANNERS  IN  BAD 
COMPANY. 

Be  not  deceived:  Evil  company  doth  corrupt  good  manners, — 
I  Cor.  15:  33. 

IF  you  will  turn  to  the  first  verse  of  the 
first  chapter  of  First  Corinthians,  you  will 
see  that  Paul,  called  to  be  an  apostle  of  Jesus 
Christ,  wrote  the  w^ords  of  our  text.  But  he 
quoted  a  part  of  it  from  a  Greek  poet  named 
Me-nan-der,  who  was  born  nearly  four  hun- 
dred years  before  Paul  wrote  this  Epistle. 
Me-nan-der  was  a  heathen,  but  he  wrote  the 
words :  ''  Evil  company  doth  corrupt  good 
manners." 

I.  What  are  good  manners?  If  you  be- 
have as  you  ought  at  all  times  and  places, 
you  show  good  manners  ;  but  if  you  do  not 
behave  as  you  ought  at  all  times  and  places, 
you  show  ill  manners.  Propriety  in  behavior, 
or  decorum  in  conduct,  at  all  times  and  places, 
is  good  manners.  As  it  has  become  a  prov- 
erb that  ''  manners    make    the    man,"   I   am 

47 


48  SERMONS  FOR   CHILDREN. 

going  to  tell  you  more  plainly  some  things 
that  belong  to  good  manners,  which  I  want 
you  to  remember  and  heed. 

It  is  not  good  manners,  when  your  mother 
is  talking  to  another,  to  break  in  with  noise 
or  talk,  though  you  wish  very  much  to  speak 
with  her.  Wait  a  little  and  when  she  is 
through  speak  to  her.  If  you  stand  waiting, 
she  will  see  you  and  soon  ask  you  what  you 
want.  In  thus  waiting  you  show  good 
manners. 

It  is  not  good  manners,  but  very  bad  man- 
ners, to  whisper  in  a  concert  or  lecture  while 
one  is  singing  or  speaking ;  but  it  is  much 
worse  to  whisper  or  play  in  the  Sunday- 
school  and  church  during  the  services.  No 
well-bred  man  or  woman  will  do  it.  No  good- 
mannered  boy  or  girl  will  do  it.  If  you  can 
not  hear  or  see,  sit  still  and  do  not  disturb 
others.  How  sad  to  see  those  dressed  in 
silks  show  their  bad  manners  by  whispering, 
giggling,  and  playing !  I  hope  no  one  of 
you  will  ever  do  these  ill-bred  things.  I  find 
this  rule  in  a  book  on  deportment :  "  People 
should  preserve  the  utmost  silence  and  deco- 
rum in  church,  and  avoid  whispering,  laugh- 
ing, staring,  or  making  a   noise   of  any  kind 


GOOD  MANNERS  IN  BAD    COMPANY. 


49 


with  the  feet  or  hands."  Do  you  ever  break 
this  rule  of  good  manners?  I  hope  not. 
Learn  the  rule  by  heart. 

2.  How  are  good  inan7iers  corrupted? 
That  is,  how  are  good  manners  turned  into 
bad  manners  ?  Our  text  says  that  evil  or  bad 
company  doth  corrupt  good  manners.  It 
takes  a  long  time  to  learn  to  be  mannerly  at 
all  times  and  places.  Your  parents  tell  you 
how  to  behave,  what  to  do,  and  what  not  to 
do ;  but  that  is  not  enough.  So  they  watch 
over  you  to  see  that  you  do  what  is  proper, 
and  shun  what  is  not  proper.  They  see  to  it 
that  you  act  at  home  as  you  ought  to  act  in 
society ;  for  they  know  that  if  you  are  ill- 
mannered  at  home,  you  will  not  be  good- 
mannered  away  from  home.  But  if  you  are 
well  behaved  at  home,  bad  company  will  lead 
you  into  ill  manners.  I  have  seen  a  well- 
trained  and  good-mannered  boy  sitting  by  the 
side  of  an  ill-trained  and  bad-mannered  boy, 
and  I  have  watched  them  —  the  one  trying  to 
behave,  the  other  trying  to  make  him  whis- 
per and  play.  And  I  have  seen  the  good 
boy  yield  at  last  to  the  bad  boy,  and  whisper 
and  play.  Evil  company  corrupts  good  man- 
ners.    And  when  the  good  boy  has  whispered 


50 


SERMONS  FOR    CHILDREN. 


and  played  once  in  the  school  or  church,  It  is 
easier  for  him  to  do  it  a  second  time,  and 
easier  still  the  third  time.  By-and-by  he 
is  caught  at  it  by  his  parents,  who  are 
shocked  and  pained  greatly  that  their  boy, 
whom  they  had  trained  so  well,  should 
behave  so  ill.  Bad  company  did  it.  Had 
their  darling  boy  kept  the  company  of  the 
good,  what  good  conduct  he  would  have 
shown  ! 

Of  course  there  are  places  where  every 
boy  and  girl  may  laugh  and  play  and  have 
a  fine  frolic,  but  they  are  not  the  school 
and  church.  In  God's  house,  where  his  Word 
is  studied  and  he  is  worshiped,  every  one 
should  behave,  and  show  the  best  manners. 
It  is  wrong  to  whisper  and  stare  about,  to 
turn  the  head  to  see  who  is  coming  in,  to 
notice  what  others  wear,  to  play,  when  we 
meet  to  worship  God  with  devout  and  loving 
hearts. 

3.  Hence  avoid  evil  company.  The  boy  or 
girl  that  does  not  care  for  times  and  places, 
and  would  as  soon  whisper  and  play  in  church 
as  anywhere  else,  is  not  the  boy  or  girl  that 
you  want  to  go  with  or  sit  with.  Such  an 
one  is  to  be   avoided,  shunned.     The  good- 


GOOD  MANNERS  IN  BAD    COMPANY.  5  I 

mannered  should  be  your  company,  for  they 
will  help  you  and  not  hurt  you.  But  those 
who  would  destroy  or  corrupt  your  good  man- 
ners must  be  let  alone.  You  must  not  go 
with  them  to  do  evil. 

May  I  not  ask  your  parents  to  watch  over 
your  manners,  to  see  that  your  conduct  is  all 
right  while  you  are  young,  so  that  when  you 
grow  up  you  will  not  be  ill-mannered  ?  To  be 
rude,  ill-behaved,  tells  that  you  are  not  trained 
at  home ;  but  to  be  good-mannered,  well- 
behaved,  shows  that  you  are  well  trained  at 
home.  And  as  you  always  want  to  appear 
the  best  you  can  and  grow  up  to  be  true 
gentlemen  and  ladies,  I  am  going  to  ask  your 
parents  for  you  to  watch  over  your  every- 
day manners,  and  to  study  to  know  what  is 
proper  in  conduct  and  what  is  not  proper, 
and  to  train  you  to  act  as  you  ought  to  act 
at  all  times  and  places  ;  then  when  you  grow 
up  your  conduct  will  always  be  what  good 
manners  require. 

An  old  English  writer  said  reverently  of 
our  Saviour:  "  He  was  the  first  true  gentle- 
man that  ever  lived."  He  said  this  because 
the  conduct  of  Jesus  Christ  always  suited  the 
time  and  place.     He  was  never  rude.     Let 


52  SERMONS  FOR    CHILDREN. 

US  become  like  him  in  manners  as  in  morals, 
so  that  our  conduct  will  always  suit  the  time 
and  place.  If  we  seek  bad  company,  re- 
member the  text :  ''  Be  not  deceived :  Evil 
company  doth  corrupt  good  manners." 


XI. 

CRUELTY. 

A  righteous  man  regardeth  the  Ufe  of  his  beast :  but  the  tender 
mercies  of  the  wicked  are  cruel.  —  Prov.  12:   10. 

TT  is  not  good  or  right  to  be  cruel,  but  it 
-^  is  good  and  right  to  be  kind  one  to 
another,  and  even  to  animals. 

I  saw  a  thing  done  a  few  days  ago  which 
I  am  sure  no  one  of  you  would  do.  A  little 
boy  was  passing  by  my  house  carrying  his 
father's  dinner,  having  a  basket  in  one  hand 
and  a  bottle  of  drink  in  the  other  hand.  A 
larger  boy  met  him  and  gave  him  a  blow  on 
the  arm,  which  made  him  cry.  Not  one 
word  was  said  either  before  or  after  the  blow 
by  either  boy.  It  seemed  as  if  the  larger 
boy,  seeing  the  hands  of  the  other  boy  full, 
so  that  he  could  not  defend  himself,  thought 
to  himself:  ''  Now  I  can  hit  him  and  hurt  him, 
and  he  can  not  return  the  blow."  The  boy 
with  the  dinner  kept  right  on,  though  crying 
from  the  pain.  What  a  mean,  cruel,  cowardly 
boy,  to  strike  another  whose  hands  were  full! 

53 


54  SERMONS  FOR    CHILDREN. 

I  was  glad  that  he  was  not  one  of  our  boys, 
one  of  you  ;  for  I  should  have  been  ashamed 
of  you  for  doing  so  mean  and  cruel  a  thing. 

But  you  can  be  cruel  in  many  ways,  and  so 
I  speak  of  cruelty.  Cruelty  is  a  disposition 
to  give  unnecessary  pain  or  distress  to  others, 
a  desire  to  hurt  them  in  some  way.  It  is 
shown  in  various  ways.  If  a  boy  delights  in 
tormenting  a  cat  or  dog  or  horse  or  other 
animal,  he  is  cruel.  If  he  plagues  or  teases 
or  hurts  his  brother  or  sister  till  they  cry,  he 
is  cruel.  If  he  pinches  or  strikes  or  kicks 
his  playmates  to  make  them  cry,  he  is  cruel. 
He  who  tries  to  give  pain  to  others  is  cruel 
in  heart.  I  hope  none  of  us  delights  in  pain 
and  sorrow. 

Yet  the  Bible  speaks  of  those  who  breathe 
out  cruelty,  whose  tender  mercies  are  cruel. 
One  good  man  prayed,  as  good  boys  now 
pray,  to  be  rescued  out  of  the  hand  of  the 
wicked,  out  of  the  hand  of  the  unrighteous 
and  cruel  man.  The  cruel  are  still  to  be 
found,  who,  like  the  boy  we  spoke  of,  delight 
in  hurting  others.  Let  us  be  careful  not  to 
be  among  them.  And  there  are  several  rea- 
sons why  we  should  not  be  cruel :  — 

1.  Cruelty  gives  pain   where  there  is   no 


CRUELTY.  55 

need  of  it.  Many  times  pain  is  needful.  If 
fire  did  not  give  pain,  the  child  would  play 
with  the  flame,  putting  its  hands  into  it  until 
they  were  burnt  off.  Fire  burns  and  hurts 
that  we  may  keep  out  of  it.  It  is  so  with 
many  other  things.  We  do  not  do  them 
because  they  hurt. 

When  you  do  wrong,  and  you  are  punished 
for  it,  your  punishment  hurts  you,  or  else  it 
does  you  no  good.  Such  pain  is  needed  to 
keep  you  from  doing  wrong,  and  it  is  not 
cruel  to  punish  you  all  you  need  to  be  pun- 
ished. It  is  a  great  kindness  to  you  thus  to 
punish  you,  and  a  great  cruelty  to  you  not  to 
punish  you.  Hence  the  Bible  says :  "He 
that  spareth  his  rod  hateth  his  son  :  but  he 
that  loveth  him  chasteneth  him  betimes." 
This  is  not  cruelty,  to  punish  you  and  make 
*you  good. 

You  are  cruel  when  you  cause  pain  that 
is  not  needed.  It  is  right  to  kill  flies,  rats, 
mice,  and  some  other  animals ;  but  it  is 
cruel  to  torment  them,  to  pull  out  the  flies' 
wings,  or  hurt  an  animal  in  any  way,  for  the 
sake  of  giving  them  pain.  If  you  give  pain 
where  there  is  no  need  of  it,  and  for  the 
sake  of  giving  pain,  you  are  cruel. 


56  SERMONS  FOR    CHILDREN. 

2.  God  wants  us  to  be  kind  and  not  cruel. 
The  text  says:  "A  righteous  man  regardeth 
the  Hfe  of  his  beast :  but  the  tender  mercies 
of  the  wicked  are  cruel."  The  righteous  are 
kind,  the  wicked  are  cruel.  Now,  if  the  boy 
I  saw  had  helped  the  other  to  carry  his  bas- 
ket, he  would  have  been  kind  in  heart.  I 
should  have  praised  and  honored  him. 
Would  not  that  have  been  better  than  the 
blow  he  gave  the  boy?  Would  not  God 
have  liked  it  better  ?  Do  you  not  think  that 
kindness  is  better  than  cruelty? 

3.  God  punishes  the  cruel.  It  is  said  in 
Proverbs  (11:  17):  ''The  merciful  man 
doeth  good  to  his  own  soul :  but  he  that  is 
cruel  troubleth  his  own  flesh."  God  gives 
rest  and  peace  to  the  soul  of  a  kind  or 
merciful  man.  Men  do  not  hurt  him  or  mve 
him  pain.  His  very  kindness  doeth  his  soul 
good.  But  it  is  not  so  with  the  cruel.  They 
trouble  their  own  flesh.  The  cruel  boy  I 
saw,  who  hit  and  hurt  the  other  boy,  will  get 
paid  for  it  some  day.  He  can  not  go  round 
hitting  and  hurting  others  without  being  hit 
and  hurt  himself.  He  was  so  cruel  that  I 
could  have  seen  him  whipped  for  it  with  a 
good   relish.      He   was    so   cruel   and   mean 


CRUELTY. 


57 


that  his  cruelty  will  some  day  trouble  his  own 
flesh,  when  he  hits  the  wrong  boy.  This  is 
one  way  that  God  will  punish  him  ;  but  there 
is  another.  God  does  not  let  the  wicked 
and  cruel  go  without  a  just  punishment 
somewhere. 

To  say  a  word,  or  to  give  a  blow,  that 
causes  pain,  which  is  the  worse  ?  You  can 
hurt  with  the  tongue  as  well  as  with  the  fist. 
Our  words  may  be  blows.  Let  us  then  be 
kind,  tender  in  heart,  doing  good,  and  not 
be  cruel,  hurting  every  body  with  our  fists  or 
with  our  words.  "A  righteous  man  re- 
gardeth  the  life  of  his  beast :  but  the  tender 
mercies  of  the  wicked  are  cruel." 


XII. 
THE   RIGHT   USE    OF   MONEY. 

And  money  answereth  all  things.  —  Eccles.  lo:    19. 

TF  I  were  to  ask  you,  children,  to  tell  me 
-*-  what  money  Is  good  for,  what  would  you 
say?  I  fear  that  a  few  would  answer:  "To 
buy  candy  with  ;  "  but  others  would  give  me 
other  answers.  Let  us  see  if  we  can  find 
the  true  answer. 

Solomon  said  that  "  money  answereth  all 
things."  But  he  does  not  mean  that  you  can 
eat  it  or  drink  it  or  wear  it  as  a  garment ;  for 
you  can  not :  but  he  means  that  money  will 
buy  all  things  that  are  sold,  —  things  to  eat, 
things  to  drink,  and  things  to  wear.  There 
is  nothing  sold  that  money  will  not  buy.  It 
will  buy  bad  things  as  well  as  good  things, 
things  that  injure  you  as  well  as  things  that 
benefit  you.  You  need  then  to  learn  how  to 
spend  money  aright,  even  while  you  are  little 
children. 

You  do  not  have  much  money  to  handle, 
there   is  therefore  greater  need  of  knowing 

58 


THE  RIGHT   USE    OE  MONEY. 


59 


how  to  use  what  you  have.  For  there  Is  an 
old  proverb  which  says:  ''A  fool  and  his 
money  are  soon  parted."  To  keep  you  from 
this  folly,  please  learn  these  rules  for  the  use 
of  money  by  heart. 

1.  Do  not  spend  all  your  money  for  can- 
dies and  toys.  If  you  begin  by  spending  all 
you  get  on  candies  and  toys,  you  will  grow 
selfish  in  heart,  and  become  unhappy,  unless 
eating  and  drinking  all  the  time.  Do  not 
run  to  the  store  for  a  stick  of  candy  every  time 
you  get  a  cent.  Candy  and  toys  now  and 
then  are  good,  but  to  spend  all  your  money 
for  them  is  not  wise.  You  can  use  your 
money  sometimes  for  these  things,  but  do  not 
spend  all  of  it  on  them  or  on  yourself. 

2.  Spend  your  money  for  useful  things. 
One  of  the  first  things  I  bought  for  myself 
when  a  lad  was  a  dictionary,  long  since  worn 
out.     It  was  the  beginning  of  my  library. 

Some  parents  give  their  children  a  fixed 
sum  every  month,  out  of  which  the  children 
buy  for  themselves  all  they  need  —  shoes, 
clothes,  books,  every  thing ;  but  the  children 
should  not  spend  the  whole  allowance  for 
books  and  clothes,  as  we  shall  soon  see. 
This  training  is  good  ;  for  it  teaches  children 


6o  SERMONS  FOR    CHILDREN. 

how  to  buy  what  they  need,  under  the  eye  of 
their  parents.  If  the  children  spend  their 
allowance  for  poor  and  foolish  things,  they 
must  pay  for  their  folly  by  wearing  the  old 
clothes  longer,  or  by  going  without  some 
needed  article.  Nor  will  wise  parents  step  in 
with  more  money ;  for  children  learn  how  to 
use  money  by  what  they  suffer.  If  they 
spend  foolishly  in  one  thing,  they  must  be 
pinched  in  something  else ;  and  it  is  the 
pinching  that  trains  them  to  be  careful  in 
buying,  as  it  is  the  hurt  of  falling  that  teaches 
them  to  be  careful  in  running.  Hence  your 
parents  wisely  let  you  learn  to  make  a  right 
use  of  money  by  the  shame  that  folly  brings. 
This  is  the  best  possible  way  of  training  you, 
namely,  to  allow  you  so  much  money  a  month, 
out  of  which  you  are  to  buy  all  your  clothes, 
books,  and  every  thing  else  you  want.  But 
your  parents  should  see  to  it  that  you  obey  a 
third  rule,  namely  :  — 

3.  Lay  up  something  in  the  bank.  If  you 
spend  all  you  get,  you  will  be  poor  all  your 
days,  with  nothing  ahead  for  sickness  or  times 
when  you  can  get  nothing  to  do.  But  if  you 
put  a  part  of  your  money  into  the  bank  or  lay 
it  up,  then  you  will  have  money  ahead  for  a 


THE  RIGHT    USE    OF  MONEY.  6 1 

rainy  day.  You  ought  thus  to  learn  to  be 
saving,  to  lay  by  something,  to  have  money 
at  interest,  that  when  you  are  old  you  may 
not  have  to  work ;  and  your  parents  ought  to 
see  to  it,  as  a  Christian  duty,  that  you  put 
some  of  your  allowance  and  earnings  into  the 
bank.  There  is  a  prayer  by  Agur  in  the 
thirtieth  chapter  of  Proverbs  which  you  should 
find  and  read  ;  a  part  of  which  is:  "  Give  me 
neither  poverty  nor  riches  ;  "  for  such  men  are 
the  happiest  in  life.  Lay  up  some  money  in 
the  bank  for  a  time  of  need. 

4.  Give  some  money  to  Christ.  He  gives 
you  all  things  to  enjoy.  He  gave  his  life  for 
the  forgiveness  of  your  sins.  He  requires 
you  to  give  him  your  heart,  your  life,  your 
money.  He  wants  you  to  spend  a  little  of 
it  for  toys  and  candies.  He  wants  you  to 
spend  more  of  it  for  useful  clothes  and  food ; 
he  wants  you  to  lay  up  some  of  it  for  a  time 
of  need  ;  and  he  requires  you  to  give  some 
of  it  to  him. 

Do  you  ask  me  how  you  can  give  Christ 
money?  You  can  do  so  by  giving  to  his 
church,  to  the  Sunday-school,  to  missions,  to 
the  poor.  You  have  part  in  these  services, 
you  ought  to  begin  in  childhood  to  give  your 


62  SERMONS  FOR    CHILDREN. 

money  for  worship  and  missions.  It  is  not 
enough  for  you  to  take  your  father's  money 
and  give  that.  Give  your  own  money  to  the 
Lord,  for  this  is  what  he  wants  you  to  do,  and 
what  he  will  bless  you  in  doing. 

I  want  you  to  learn  by  heart  these  four 
rules  for  the  right  use  of  m^oney :  — 

(i)  Do  not  spend  all  your  money  for 
candies  and  toys. 

(2)  Spend  your  money  for   useful  things. 

(3)  Lay  up  something  in  the  bank  for  a 
time  of  need. 

(4)  Give  something  to  Christ  for  his 
Church  and  missions. 

God  calls  upon  us  to  care  for  ourselves,  to 
care  for  his  Church,  to  care  for  missions,  to 
care  for  another  life.  If  we  follow  these 
rules,  we  shall  learn  the  right  use  of  money, 
and  shall  lay  up  treasure  in  heaven.  And 
where  our  treasure  is  there  will  our  heart  be 
also. 


XIII. 
ANXIETY   FOR   DRESS. 

And  why  are  ye  anxious  concerning  raiment? —  Matt.  6 :  28. 

TN  the  country  where  Jesus  Hved  flowers 
^  grew  with  the  grass  of  the  field  ;  and 
when  the  grass  was  cut,  dried,  and  burned  in 
the  oven  to  bake  bread,  as  was  often  done, 
the  beautiful  scarlet  lily,  or  anemone,  was 
burned  with  the  grass.  What  the  child  saw 
in  its  glory  in  the  morning,  he  might  see 
thrown  into  the  oven  the  next  day,  to  bake 
bread  for  him.  How  true  then  were  the 
words  of  Christ:  ''  Consider  the  lilies  of  the 
field,  how  they  grow ;  they  toil  not,  neither 
do  they  spin  :  yet  I  say  unto  you,  that  even 
Solomon  in  all  his  glory  was  not  arrayed  like 
one  of  these.  But  if  God  doth  so  clothe  the 
grass  of  the  field,  which  to-day  is,  and  to- 
morrow is  cast  into  the  oven,  shall  he  not 
muoh  more  clothe  you,  O  ye  of  little  faith?" 
God  does  not  despise  lilies,  or  beau- 
tiful things,  or  rich  clothes,  and  we  should 
not.     But  we  may  think  too  much  of  them 

63 


64  SEJ^AWNS  FOE    CHILDREN. 

and  become  anxious  for  dress,  which  is  wrong. 
Of  course  your  mothers  must  talk  of  dress, 
when  they  make  or  buy  what  you  wear  ;  but 
you  ought  not  to  fret  lest  they  do  not  get  you 
the  best  there  is  in  the  store.  They  know 
best  what  you  need  and  what  they  can  afford 
to  get  you,  so  wear  it  and  be  thankful.  As 
some  of  you  may  fret  because  you  can  not 
wear  silk  and  satin  and  kid,  the  very  richest 
things,  I  am  going  to  preach  to  you  about 
anxiety  for  dress. 

I .  Do  not  think  that  rich  clothes  are  better 
than  good  behavior.  When  your  parents 
buy  or  make  you  any  thing  to  wear,  you 
ought  to  be  glad  and  thank  them  for  it.  But 
do  not  feel  proud  or  vain  and  say :  "  See  my 
new  dress  ;  it  is  prettier  than  yours  ;  "  for  then 
you  will  hurt  the  feelings  of  the  one  you 
speak  to.  It  is  better  to  say  nothing  about 
your  dress,  and  to  think  nothing  about  it, 
than  to  be  rude  and  to  make  others  unhappy. 
Good  behavior  is  better  than  the  best  dress 
a  queen  ever  wore,  and  the  poorest  can  be- 
have well.  If  you  were  to  deck  ill  manners 
in  all  the  nice  ribbons  and  satins  and  feathers 
money  could  buy,  you  could  not  make  her 
look  well,  not  half  as  well  as  good  manners 


ANXIETY  FOR  DRESS.  65 

dressed  In  plain  clothes  ;  for  "  handsome  is, 
diat  handsome  does."  Not  long  ago  I  heard 
a  little  boy  at  the  table  say  to  the  servant : 
"  Please  brina-  a  elass  of  water."  How  much 
better  than  to  say  :  ''  Bring  me  water."  You 
look  at  your  clothes,  and  think  about  them ; 
but  think  instead  of  your  words  and  acts,  that 
they  be  what  they  ought  to  be.  A  boy  or 
girl  that  behaves  w^ell  at  school  is  better  than 
the  boy  or  girl  that  only  dresses  well.  And 
it  is  so  every-where.  If  you  want  the  best 
possible  dress,  you  can  make  it  for  yourself 
out  of  good  behavior. 

2.  Do  not  think  more  of  your  clothes  than 
of  your  lessons.  Your  parents  will  get  you 
such  clothes  as  are  suitable  for  you  ;  but  you, 
and  you  only,  can  get  your  lessons  well,  which 
is  better  than  rich  dresses.  Of  course  you 
should  learn  to  take  the  best  care  you  can  of 
your  clothes,  lest  you  soil  or  tear  them;  and 
in  like  manner  you  should  care  for  your 
books  ;  for  this  is  right.  What  we  mean  by 
taking  thought  for  dress  is  to  be  proud,  and 
not  happy  or  pleased,  unless  you  have  the 
best  there  is,  or  something  better  than  others 
have  ;  fretting  because  your  mother  does  not 
get  you  all  you  want.     I  hope  there  is  no  such 


66  SERMONS  FOR    CHILDREN. 

proud  and  vain  girl  here.  I  hope  rather  that 
you  so  care  for  your  lessons  in  the  school  that 
you  do  not  think  about  what  you  or  others 
wear,  and  that  you  never  gaze  about  in  church 
to  see  what  others  have  on.  We  never  praise 
you  for  your  clothes,  but  for  your  good  be- 
havior   and  lessons ;  so  think  most  of  them. 

3.  Do  not  think  that  fine  clothes  are  better 
than  morals.  It  is  better  to  be  honest  than 
to  get  money  by  doing  wrong.  It  is  better 
to  be  honest  than  to  steal  a  gold  ring  or  pin 
or  any  thing  else  you  like.  It  is  wrong  to 
steal.  If  you  steal,  God  knows  it,  you  know 
it,  and  others  may  find  it  out ;  and  how  sad 
to  have  them  think  and  say  of  you  :  ''  There 
goes  a  thief !  "  Nothing  you  can  wear  can 
make  those  who  think  this  of  you  love  you 
or  respect  you.  Never  do  wrong  that  you 
may  wear  fine  clothes  or  jewels. 

Jesus  tells  us  not  to  be  anxious  for  raiment, 
for  there  are  other  things  more  worthy  of  our 
attention.  We  should  think  more  of  behav- 
ior, of  lessons,  of  doing  right.  If  we  care 
for  these  things,  God  will  see  to  it  that  we 
are  well  clothed.  He  makes  the  flowers  more 
beautiful  than  the  dress  of  the  richest  queen, 
and  yet  a  flower  soon  withers  or   is  burnt  up, 


ANXIETY  FOR  DRESS.  67 

and  the  best  clothes  wear  out.  But  good 
behavior,  good  lessons,  good  morals,  are  not 
only  beautiful,  but  they  last  through  life.  It 
is  better  to  do  right  than  to  wear  gold  ;  to  be 
admired  for  goodness  than  for  dress  ;  to  have 
a  kind,  loving  spirit  than  to  have  a  new  hat 
every  day.     Be  not  then  anxious  for  dress. 


XIV. 
SOMETHING    BETTER    BEYOND. 

Even  so  run,  that  ye  may  attain.  —  i  Cor.  9  :  24. 

TDAUL,  who  wrote  this,  refers  to  the  foot- 
■^  races  common  in  his  day,  in  which 
trained  men  ran  for  a  prize.  There  was  a 
crown  to  be  won,  and  the  runner  kept  his 
eye  fixed  upon  the  goal  to  be  reached  and 
bent  all  his  strength  to  win  it.  Even  so  we 
should  bend  all  our  strength  to  win  the  good 
that  lies  beyond  in  our  heavenly  home. 

If  you  were  to  drive  a  stake  into  the 
ground,  then  go  far  back  to  a  line,  and  run 
from  that  line  to  the  stake,  to  see  who  would 
reach  it  first,  you  would  run  a  race.  And  in 
running  it  you  would  fix  your  eye  on  the 
stake  and  run  with  all  your  might ;  and  as 
you  came  near  the  stake,  you  would  stretch 
out  your  hand  in  your  eagerness  to  touch  it 
first. 

Paul  likens  the  Christian  life  to  such  a 
foot-race,  and  says:  "Even  so  run,  that  ye 
may  attain  ; "  that  is,  you  should  be  as  eager 

68 


SOMETHING  BETTER  BEYOND.  69 

to  run  in  the  Christian  race,  to  be  good  and 
to  do  good,  as  to  win  a  prize  in  a  foot-race. 

God  hangs  up  a  great  many  prizes  before 
us,  that  we  may  run  after  them  and  win  them. 
He  always  puts  something  beyond,  that  we 
may  desire  it  and  strive  for  it.  He  holds  out 
before  us  all  the  time  something  to  be 
gained,  lest  we  sit  down  and  do  nothing. 
Let  me  illustrate  what  I  mean. 

You  want  to  be  as  large  as  your  parents, 
so  you  put  on  your  father's  coat  or  your 
mother's  dress,  and  play  that  you  are  men 
and  women.  You,  in  these  plays,  are  look- 
ing to  something  beyond,  which  you  desire  to 
attain.  So  your  care  of  dolls  has  respect 
for  something  beyond  childhood.  The  boys 
want  to  be  as  strong  as  their  fathers  and  to 
do  what  they  do,  looking  to  something 
beyond  childhood.  You  want  to  know  as 
much  as  your  teachers  and  the  learned  men 
you  hear  about,  still  looking  for  something 
beyond.  Perhaps  some  of  you  desire  to 
wear  rich  clothes,  or  to  be  as  rich  as  some 
one  else  is,  still  looking  at  something  beyond. 

I  could  go  on  and  tell  other  things  which 
lie  beyond,  which  you  want  to  win.  And  we 
could    say    of  them,  what    Paul    said    of  the 


70  SERMONS  FOR    CHILDREN. 

Christian  race :  ''  Even  so  run,  that  ye  may 
attain."  But  this  way  you  have  of  looking 
forward  to  something  beyond,  that  you  may 
win  it,  is  so  useful  to  you  and  others,  and 
has  so  much  to  do  with  your  happiness,  that 
I  want  to  speak  to  your  parents  about  it,  lest 
they  destroy  it  in  you. 

You  desire  rich  clothes  and  look  forward 
to  the  time  when  you  can  have  them.  They 
are  a  prize  which  you  are  going  to  run  to 
win.  You  think  of  the  time  when  you  will 
dress  as  well  as  the  rich,  and  you  enjoy  the 
thought  of  winning  so  great  a  prize.  Now 
your  parents  spoil  all  this  enjoyment  if  they 
buy  you  the  very  best  and  richest  clothes 
that  are  made.  The  costliest  things  become 
so  common  to  you  when  children  that  your 
want  for  something  still  better  can  not  be 
satisfied,  and  so  you  are  unhappy.  You  go 
to  the  store,  but  you  see  nothing  better  than 
you  have  had.  Your  desire  for  better  things 
than  you  have  had  can  not  be  met,  and  you 
return  home  in  disgust.  What  is  the  matter? 
Your  parents  have  not  been  wise  in  dealing 
with  your  desire  for  something  beyond  and 
better.  They  should  have  kept  back  the 
best  things,  that  you  might  run  after  them 


SOMETHING  BETTER  BEYOND.  71 

and  win  them,  after  a  long  race.  For  you 
get  more  joy  in  expecting  and  in  working 
for  better  things  than  in  wearing  the  best 
things. 

It  is  so  in  study.  If  you  are  pushed  in 
study  all  the  time,  you  tire  of  books  and  do 
not  relish  reading,  or  study,  or  school.  If 
your  parents  are  wise,  they  will  try  to  keep 
you  always  hungry  for  books.  They  will  not 
buy  you  all  you  want,  or  the  most  costly,  or 
keep  you  at  school  all  the  time.  They  will 
make  you  work,  and  so  arrange  it  that  you 
will  always  be  hungry  for  study  and  books. 

It  is  so  in  play  and  pleasure.  Wise  par- 
ents will  not  let  you  play  or  skate  all  you 
desire,  as  though  such  things  could  make 
you  useful  and  happy,  for  they  know  that  the 
most  unhappy  beings  are  those  who  give 
their  whole  time  to  play  or  pleasure ;  but 
they  will  make  you  work  or  study,  and  hold 
out  play  to  you  as  something  beyond,  to  be 
won  when  your  daily  task  is  done,  as  a 
recreation,  a  rest  from  the  duties  of  life. 

The  art  of  living  happy  lives  lies  partly  in 
having  something  beyond  to  be  running 
after,  not  in  having  the  best  of  every  thing 
as  we  go   along.     Hence   God  has  held  out 


72  SERMONS  FOR    CHILDREN. 

the  glory  of  heaven  as  something  beyond  to 
be  run  after  and  won.  And  when  we  are 
running  for  a  prize  we  do  not  care  for*the 
Httle  hurts  we  get  in  the  race.  It  is  when 
we  sit  down  to  cry  over  our  hurts  that  they 
pain  us  most,  and  besides,  we  thus  lose  th(i 
prize. 

Even  so  run  in  every  good  race  of  life, 
that  you  may  win,  keeping  your  eye  on  that 
which  is  beyond. 


XV. 

KEEPING     THINGS     IN     ORDER. 

Joying  and  beholding  your  order.  —  Col.  2 :  5. 

"  I  ^HE  church  at  Colossae  kept  things  in 
-■-  order,  and  Paul,  seeing  it,  was  glad, 
just  as  I  am  glad  when  you  keep  things  in 
order  in  your  homes,  in  school,  in  church, 
and  at  your  wQxk, — But  how  did  Paul  find 
out  that  the  church  to  which  he  wrote  these 
words,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  62,  kept 
things  in  order  ?  for  he  was  in  prison  at 
Rome  for  Chrfst's  sake  at  the  time.  He 
heard  of  it  through  one  of  the  members  of 
that  church  who  came  to  Rome  to  see  him, 
named  Epaphras,  and  who  told  him  of  their 
order  and  love.  Hence  Paul  could  write  : 
"  For  though  I  am  absent  in  the  flesh,  yet 
am  I  with  you  in  the  spirit,  joying  and  be- 
holding your  order,  and  the  stedfastness  of 
your  faith  in  Christ."  So  I  am  with  you  in 
the  spirit,  joying  and  beholding  your  order. 
Let  me  say  a  few  things  about  keeping 
things  in  order. 

73 


74  SERMONS  FOR    CHILDREN. 

1.  You  like  to  scatter  things  about.  When 
you  play  with  your  blocks  or(toJ^,  or  cut  out 
paper  dolls  and  dresses,  you  coverH;kefloor 
or  table  with  them.  You  take  ^reat  delist 
in  them.  But  after  awhile  you  become 
tired  of  them,  and  leave  them  scattered 
about,  and  such  a  looking  table  or  floor ! 
Dolls,  dresses,  bits  of  paper,  blocks,  every 
thing  you  were  playing  with  scattered  all 
about !  You  had  a  good  time  at  your  play, 
putting  things  out  of  order,  and  ^ow)  comes 
a  sore  trial  to  most  of  you  ;  for :  — 

2.  It  is  hard  keeping  things  in  order. 
You  do  not  like  to  pick  up  your  play-things, 
putting  each  in  its  place,  as  your  mother 
wants  you.  How  many  of  you  keep  things 
in  order  ?  How  many  leave  it  to  your 
mothers  to  pick  up  after  you  ?  If  I  were  to 
ask  your  mothers,  what  do  you  think  they 
would  say  ?  There  is  no  play  in  keeping 
things  in  order,  you  say ;  well,  there  is  some- 
thing better  than  play.  So  I  am  going  to 
tell  you  how  to  do  it. 

3.  Always  have  a  place  for  every  thing. 
Have  a  place  for  your  play-things,  for  your 
hat  or  cap,  your  coat  or  shawl,  your  books, 
your  clothes,  which  you  call  your  own.     And 


KEEPING    THINGS  IN  ORDER.  75 

put  your  clothes  in  order  at  night  when  you 
go  to  bed,  your  shoes  side  by  side.  That  is 
the  way  the  cadets,  or  scholars  at  the  military 
school  at  West  Point,  have  to  do.  That  is 
the  way  you  ought  to  do.  You  ought  to 
have  a  place  for  every  thing,  not  a  half-dozen 
places  for  each.  If  you  have  not  such  a  place, 
ask  your  mother  to  give  you  one  :  one  for 
your  play-things,  one  for  your  books,  one  for 
your  clothes,  one  for  your  hats  and  caps. 
Then  :  — 

4.  Always  put  a  thing  in  its  place.  When 
you  are  done  playing  put  every  thing  away 
in  its  place,  and  pick  up  every  bit  of  paper 
or  litter  and  put  it  where  it  belongs.  When 
you  come  in,  hang  your  cap  or  hat  in  its 
place  every  time.  Do  not  throw  it  down 
anywhere,  but  put  it  in  its  place  ;  for  that  is 
the  way  to  keep  things  in  order.  If  you  use 
any  tool,  as  a  hammer  or  hoe,  do  not  leave 
it  where  you  used  it,  but  put  it  in  its  proper 
place.  And  so  of  every  thing  you  have  or 
use.  Do  you  ask  me:  ''Why take  such  pains 
to  keep  every  thing  in  its  place  ?  "  I  will  tell 
you. 

5.  Because  then  you  will  know  where   to 
find    it.       If    you    leave    things    where   you 


^^  SERMONS  FOR    CHILDREN. 

played  with  or  used  them,  you  will  be  all  the 
time  losing  them.  You  will  be  ever  asking, 
''Mother,  where  is  my  hat?"  "Mother, 
where  is  my  knife  ?  "  and  so  of  every  thing. 
You  forget  where  you  left  it,  and  you  ask 
mother.  But  if  you  hang  your  hat  where 
you  should,  and  put  every  thing  in  its  place, 
you  know  where  to  find  them.  This  is  one 
reason  why  you  should  have  a  place  for 
every  thing,  and  keep  every  thing  in  its 
place. 

Another  reason  is  that,  if  you  do  so,  you, 
like  the  church  in  our  text,  will  have  such 
order  that  all  will  rejoice  in  it.  If  I  were  to 
look  into  your  homes,  after  you  have  had  a 
good  play  there,  do  you  think  I  should  rejoice 
in  seeing  your  good  order  ?  Should  I  find 
that  you  had  put  every  thing  away  ?  Or 
should  I  find  the  floor  all  covered  over  with 
litter,  waiting  for  your  mother  to  clean  up 
after  you  ?  Which  should  I  find  ?  The 
keeping  of  things  in  order  is  another  reason 
why  you  should  have  a  place  for  every  thing, 
and  should  keep  every  thing  in  its  place. 

But  there  is  another  reason  that  I  will 
mention.  As  you  do  in  childhood,  so  you 
will  do  when  you  become  men  and  women. 


KEEPING    THINGS  IN  ORDER.  77 

If  you  keep  things  in  order  as  children,  you 
will  always  keep  things  in  order ;  but  If  you 
let  every  thing  He  scattered  about  where  you 
happen  to  use  them,  you  will  never  keep 
things  in  order  all  your  days.  You  will  have 
trouble  all  your  life  because  you  did  not 
learn  to  be  orderly  In  childhood.  Hence 
your  plays  are  of  use  in  teaching  order. 

If  you  learn  to  keep  things  in  order  when 
young,  you  will  always  keep  your  rooms  in 
order  when  at  home  and  away  from  home. 
What  a  sad  sight  is  a  disorderly  room  !  how 
beautiful  a  room  in  order  i 

If  you  keep  things  in  order,  you  will  keep 
yourselves  in  order,  your  hair,  dress,  nails, 
hands,  feet,  tongue,  your  whole  body. 

Please  remember  this  sermon  and  repeat 
it  to  your  parents.  Then  your  mothers  will 
not  have  to  pick  up  after  you,  or  hang  up 
your  hats  or  caps,  for  you  will  do  it.  Learn 
by  heart  these  words :  Have  a  place  for 
every  thing,  and  keep  every  thing  in  its 
place ;  then,  beholding,  I  shall  rejoice  at 
your  good  order. 


XVI. 

PURE   HEARTS,    PURE   WORDS. 

Create  in  me  a  clean  heart,  O  God.  —  Psalm  51:   10. 

This  is  a  prayer  which  ever}^  boy  should 
often  pray ;  for  it  is  so  easy  to  learn  to  say 
unclean  words  that  unless  each  one  asks 
God  to  help  him  to  keep  his  heart  pure,  his 
words  will  not  be  pure.  You  know  that  the 
lips  speak  what  the  heart  or  mind  thinks, 
and  if  the  heart  thinks  bad  words,  the  tono-ue 
will  speak  them.  So  if  you  want  pure  words, 
you  must  pray  for  pure  hearts. 

The  water  tor  our  homes  comes  from 
wells,  or  springs,  or  the  lake,  or  the  river. 
Now  if  these  be  roiled  or  muddy,  the  water 
that  comes  from  them  will  also  be  roiled  and 
muddy ;  but  if  they  are  clean  the  water  will 
be  pure.  So  if  our  hearts  are  clean,  our 
words  will  be  clean  ;  but  if  our  hearts  are 
impure  or  unclean,  our  words  will  be  vile 
and  unfit  to  be  heard. 

If  I  were  to  become  invisible  so  that  you 
78 


PURE  HEARTS,  PURE    WORDS.  79 

could  not  see  me,  and  if  I  should  then  play 
with  you  or  stand  by  you  when  you  are  to- 
gether, out  of  hearing  of  your  mothers,  do 
you  not  think  I  should  hear  a  great  many 
vile,  filthy,  nasty  words  ?  I  am  sure,  good 
as  you  are,  that  some  of  you  would  say 
words  and  tell  stories  which  you  would  not 
dare  to  speak  in  the  hearing  of  your  mothers. 
Why  do  you  say  them  behind  the  fence,  and 
not  in  the  house  ?  Ah,  you  know  that  they 
are  bad  and  ought  not  to  be  said  ;  that  is  the 
reason.  You  would  be  ashamed  to  say  them 
if  your  sister  was  with  you.  Why,  then, 
do  you  say  them  at  all  ? 

Some  of  you,  if  you  were  to  speak 
out,  would  answer  that  the  older  boys 
use  these  vile  words  and  tell  the  vile 
stories,  and  that  they  teach  you  to  use 
them.  Then  shame  on  the  older  boys,  to  be 
teaching  the  little  boys  such  wicked  things  ! 
They  ought  to  hide  their  heads.  What  can 
be  worse  than  to  be  filling  a  child's  heart  and 
head  with  things  that  ought  never  to  be 
spoken  ?  Every  boy  that  has  been  guilty  of 
doing  it  ought  to  repent  and  ask  God  and 
you  to  forgive  him  ;  and  you  ought  to  go 
away  and  leave  him  if  he  does  so  again. 


8o  SERMONS  FOR    CHILDREN. 

But  you  use  such  filthy  words  because 
your  own  heart  is  not  clean  or  pure,  and  so 
you  like  to  repeat  them.  If  your  hearts  were 
pure  and  clean,  you  would  hate  such  words 
and  put  them  away  from  you.  They  would  be 
like  bitter  things  to  your  taste.  You  do  not 
like  bitter  but  sweet  things  ;  and  if  the  bit- 
terest thing  was  left  on  the  table,  you  would 
not  eat  it  though  it  were  as  white  as  the  best 
sugar.  So  if  vile  and  impure  words  were 
distasteful  to  you,  if  they  were  bitter  to  your 
taste,  you  would  not  use  them  or  speak  them. 
The  real  reason  why  you  say  them  is  that 
you  like  them,  and  you  like  them  because 
your  heart  is  not  clean  and  pure. 

Hence  you  need  to  pray  with  David,  the 
king  of  Israel  :  "  Create  in  me  a  clean  heart, 
O  God."  You  should  ask  God  to  take  away 
the  vile  heart  that  loves  bad  words  and  give 
you  a  heart  that  loves  what  God  loves,  pure 
words  and  pure  acts.  You  look  better  with 
clean  hands  and  clean  faces,  and  so  you  wash 
them  clean  before  you  go  to  school  or  come 
to  church.  But  you  look  better  to  God,  who 
sees  and  knows  your  thoughts,  if  your  hearts 
are  clean  and  your  words  are  pure.  And 
you  look  better  to  us  also,  if  you  never  use  a 


PURE  HEARTS,  PURE    WORDS.  8 1 

bad  or  vile  word.  God  is  holy  and  pure  ; 
and  he  says :  "  Blessed  are  the  pure  in 
heart :  for  they  shall  see  God."  But  he  will 
not  let  the  impure  or  vile  in  heart  dwell  with 
him  in  heaven  ;  for  they  are  unfit  for  that 
holy,  happy  place.  Remember  then  to  pray: 
**  Create  in  me  a  clean  heart,  O  God." 

But  you  must  not  stop  with  the  prayer. 
You  must  try  and  put  away  from  you  every 
vile  word  and  evil  thought.  You  must  not 
hear  them,  or  say  them,  or  think  them.  If 
boys  will  say  them,  do  not  play  with  them ; 
for  you  can  find  those  who  will  not  use  such 
words.  As  you  pray  for  a  clean  heart,  try 
and  keep  your  heart  clean,  and  God  will 
bless  you. 

Do  you  say  that  it  is  hard  to  do  it?  So  it 
is  ;  but  it  is  the  hard  things  that  do  us  good. 
It  is  the  hard  lessons  that  do  us  good,  the 
hard  work,  the  hard  play.  The  easy  things 
do  not  help  us  much.  Hence,  if  it  be 
hard  to  keep  from  thinking  and  saying  vile 
words,  be  brave  boys  and  not  give  up 
because  it  is  hard.  And  if  you  fail  once, 
keep  at  it  until  you  win.  God  will  help 
you  if  you  try,  and  keep  trying  ;  and  he  will 
give  you  a  clean,  pure  heart,  which  is  better 
than  a  gold  watch  or  great  riches, 


XVII. 

SOWING   SEED. 

They  that  sow  in  tears  shall  reap  in  joy.  —  Psalm  126:  5. 

You  see  how  men  are  plowing  up  the 
fields  and  digg-ing  up  the  gardens  for  the 
seed.  The  work  is  so  hard  that  our  text 
says  they  sow  in  tears  ;  but  when  the  harvest 
comes,  they  reap  in  joy.  The  next  verse 
says:  ''He  that  goeth  forth  and  weepeth, 
bearing  precious  seed,  shall  doubtless  come 
again  with  rejoicing,  bringing  his  sheaves 
with  him."  Men  sow  the  seed  for  the  har- 
vest of  flowers  and  fruit.  Perhaps,  too,  you 
have  a  flower-bed  or  a  garden  to  care  for, 
and  so  we  will  preach  to  you  to-day  about 
sowing  and  reaping.  I  have  noticed  these 
things  about  sowing  seeds  and  reaping  the 
fruit  of  them  :  — 

I.  That  some  seeds,  when  sown,  are  lost  to 
sight.  They  are  not  only  buried  up  in  the 
ground,  but  they  are  so  small  that  if  you  were 
to  hunt  for  them,  to    put  them    somewhere 

82 


SOWING    SEED.  83 

else,  you  could  not  find  them.  You  might 
say  that  the  seeds  are  lost  altogether,  so  lost 
that  you  shall  never  see  one  of  them  again. 
Perhaps  you  would  go  and  get  larger  seed 
and  plant  the  bed  over  again,  if  your  mother 
would  let  you.  But  wait,  the  seed  is  hidden 
in  the  ground,  that  is  all.  The  rain  will  find 
it,  and  the  heat  and  light  of  the  sun  will  go 
down  to  it  and  cause  it  to  sprout  and  to 
push  the  earth  aside,  until  it  comes  up  into 
the  air  to  bloom  and  to  bear  fruit. 

2.  Another  thing  about  seeds  and  their 
planting.  If  you  should  go  out  to  the  bed 
where  you  plant  them  and  dig  the  ground  over 
every  day,  to  see  if  they  had  sprouted  and 
were  ready  to  grow  up  and  blossom,  you 
would  stop  their  sprouting  or  kill  the  seed 
after  it  had  begun  to  start.  You  would 
never  get  any  flowers  from  your  seed.  So 
you  let  the  seed  alone  when  you  have  put  it 
in  the  ground,  and  God,  by  his  rain  and  light 
and  heat,  causes  it  to  sprout  and  grow,  and 
bud  and  blossom,  so  that  you  pick  the 
flowers  and  smell  of  their  fragrance,  and 
admire  their  beauty,  and  you  give  them  to 
your  friends,  and  you  send  them  in  beautiful 
bouquets  to  the  sick,  to  comfort  and  cheer 


84  SERATOATS  FOR    CHILDREN. 

them.     What  could  you  do  with  them  better 
than  to  cheer  the  sick  with  them  ? 

3.  Then,  you  see,  another  thing-  is  true. 
You  sow  the  seed  of  one  kind  of  plant  or 
flower  and  you  will  have  the  same  kind  come 
up,  and  if  you  sow  two  or  three  kinds  to- 
gether, you  will  have  two  or  three  kinds  of 
flowers.  If  you  mix  up  the  seeds  before  you 
plant  them,  each  seed  will  remain  the  same 
and  bear  the  same  kind  of  leaf  and  flower. 
It  will  not  forget  what  it  is,  and  so  change  to 
be  something  else.  You  get  just  what  you 
sow. 

4.  Hence,  if  you  were  to  sow  a  bed  full  of 
seeds,  but  should  carefully  mark  out  in  great 
letters  your  mother's  name  through  the 
middle  of  the  bed,  and  sow  in  those  letters 
another  kind  of  seed,  what  would  you  find 
by-and-by  ?  You  would  find  that  those  seeds 
would  spell  out  your  mother's  name  in  plain, 
large  letters,  so  that  you  and  every  one  could 
read  her  name.  And  if  any  stranger  passing 
by  and  seeing  it  should  ask  whose  name  is 
that  written  in  the  beautiful  flowers,  you 
would  say  ''  Mother's,"  and  so  you  would 
honor  your  mother  whom  you  love  so  dearly 
and  obey  so  promptly. 


SOWING   SEED.  85 

5.  Now  your  heart  is  like  a  bed  or  garden 
prepared  for  seeds,  and  you  may  sow  in  it 
the  seeds  of  the  most  beautiful  flowers,  or 
the  seeds  of  weeds  and  things  of  no  use, 
just  as  you  will.  You  can  sow  them  in  large 
letters  if  you  will,  so  as  to  read  the  words  : 
My  Mother,  which  all  will  love  to  see ;  or 
you  can  sow  them  so  that  all  can  read 
instead  :  I  Don't  Care,  which  looks  so  bad 
when  spelled  out  in  flower-beds  that  you  and 
others  never  want  to  see  it ;  but  when 
spelled  out  in  your  heart,  it  looks  a  great  deal 
worse.  I  do  not  want  to  read  it  whenever 
I  get  a  glimpse  into  your  hearts,  boys  and 
girls,  and  I  do  not  believe  you  want  me  to 
read  such  words  there,  do  you  ?  No,  I  knew 
you  would  be  ashamed  to  have  me  or  any 
one  else  read  them.  Yet  if  they  are  growing 
there,  I  and  others  will  see  them  now  and 
then,  but  God  will  see  them  all  the  time,  and 
he  will  be  greatly  displeased  with  you  for 
sowing  such  bad  seeds.  I  am  sure  you  do 
not  want  to  displease  every  body  by  such 
ugly  letters  in  your  hearts. 

6.  So  I  will  tell  you  how  you  can  keep 
them  out  of  your  heart.  It  is  a  very  simple 
way.     Do  not  sow  bad  seed,  and  then  they 


86  SERMONS  FOR    CHILDREN. 

will  not  grow  there.  But  you  may  ask: 
How  do  I  sow  bad  seed  ?  We  will  tell  you. 
You  do  not  sow  the  seed  all  at  once,  but 
little  by  little,  now  one  seed  and  now 
another,  and  it  is  done  by  not  giving  heed  to 
what  your  mother  tells  you.  She  tells  you 
what  is  right  and  what  is  wrong,  what  is 
proper  to  say  and  do  and  what  is  not  proper 
to  say  and  do.  Now  if  you  do  not  care 
enough  about  it  to  heed  your  mother  or  to  obey 
her,  you  begin  to  sow  bad  seed  in  the  letters 
I  Don't  Care,  and  if  you  continue  sowing 
such  seed  for  a  long  time,  those  sad  letters 
will  be  written  in  your  hearts  so  that  all  can 
read  them.  But  if  you  do  heed  and  obey  your 
mother,  as  I  trust  you  do,  you  will  sow  seeds 
which,  when  they  spring  up  and  grow,  will 
spell  out  those  beautiful  words.  My  Mother. 
All  can  see  your  mother's  loving  hand  in  your 
life  and  character,  because  it  has  trained  your 
heart  ario^ht. 

spring  is  the  time  to  sow  seeds,  and  youth 
or  childhood  is  the  time  to  form  good  habits, 
to  receive  the  truth.  I  want,  therefore,  to 
sow  the  seed  of  truth  in  your  hearts  which 
shall  make  your  lives  as  beautiful  as  a  bed  of 
flowers  and  full  of  sweet  odors  and  blessings 


SOWING   SEED.  87 

to  Others.  Hence,  take  care  what  you 
sow  in  your  hearts.  They  that  sow  in  tears 
the  true  seed  shall  reap  in  singing  the  good, 
beautiful  fruits.  Be  careful,  therefore,  what 
you  sow. 


XVIII. 
DEGREES   IN   FRUITFULNESS. 

And  others  fell  upon  the  good  ground,  and  yielded  fruit,  some  a 
hundredfold,  some  sixty,  some  thirty.  —  Matt.  13:  8. 

Some  of  the  seed  of  the  sower  fell  by  the 
way-side,  some  fell  on  stony  places,  and  some 
fell  among  thorns,  but  none  of  these  brought 
forth  any  fruit.  All  that  seed  was  lost,  as 
you  will  see  if  you  read  the  parable.  But  of 
the  seed  that  fell  on  the  good  ground,  not 
all  was  equally  fruitful :  some  yielded  "  a 
hundredfold,  some  sixty,  some  thirty." 

Fold  here  means  the  same  as  times ;  a 
hundred-fold  is  therefore  a  hundred  times  the 
seed  sown,  sixty-fold  is  sixty  times  the  seed 
planted,  and  thirty-fold  is  thirty  times.  Not 
all  seed  on  the  same  ground  yields  the  same 
increase  ;  some  yields  more,  some  less,  but 
all  yields  some  increase.  One  apple-seed 
may  grow  to  be  a  great  tree  and  yield  a 
thousand  apples  every  year;  another  seed 
from  the  same  apple  may  become  a  tree  and 
bear  but  little  fruit. 


DEGREES  IN  FRUITFULNESS.  89 

It  Is  SO  with  the  things  that  we  do  for 
Christ :  they  are  not  all  equally  fruitful  here 
in  this  life.  One  may  yield  a  hundred-fold, 
another  only  thirty-fold  ;  and  yet  the  latter 
may  be  just  as  good  as  the  former.  It  is  not 
in  the  seed  but  in  the  ground  that  we  are 
to  look  for  the  difference. 

Let  me  illustrate  it.  Many  a  man  and 
many  a  woman  has  given  up  all  for  Christ, 
even  life  itself ;  yet  we  never  heard  of  them 
except  it  was  said  that  many  were  put  to 
death  for  Christ's  sake.  That  is  all  we  know 
about  them.  God  did  not  interfere  to  save 
them.  He  let  them  be  burned  or  hanged 
or  beheaded.  If  they  bare  fruit,  that  fruit  is 
not  now  known  to  men.  God,  however, 
knows  it  all,  and  he  will  reward  them.  But 
the  Bible  tells  us  of  a  woman  in  the  time  of  a 
very  great  famine  going  out  to  pick  up  sticks 
for  a  fire.  She  met  a  prophet  of  the  Lord, 
and  he  too  was  hungry,  and  said  :  "  Bring  me, 
I  pray  thee,  a  morsel  of  bread  in  thine  hand. 
And  she  said.  As  the  Lord  thy  God  liveth, 
I  have  not  a  cake,  but  a  handful  of  meal  in 
the  barrel,  and  a  little  oil  in  the  cruse  :  and, 
behold,  I  am  gathering  two  sticks,  that  I  may 
go    in  and    dress    it    for    me    and    my    son, 


90 


SERMONS  FOR    CHILDREN. 


that  we  may  eat  and  die."  The  prophet 
then  told  her  to  make  him  a  cake  first,  and 
promised  her,  if  she  did  so,  that  the  barrel 
of  meal  should  not  waste,  nor  the  cup  of  oil 
fail.  She  believed  what  he  said,  and  did  as 
he  told  her  to  do  ;  "  and  she,  and  he,  and  . 
her  house,  did  eat  many  days,"  until  the 
dreadful  famine  was  ended.  Her  act  of  faith 
and  her  care  for  the  Lord's  prophet  Elijah 
yielded  her  meal  and  oil  for  a  long  time,  for 
months,  and  perhaps  for  years.  Her  act 
bore  a  hundred-fold  and  more.  Read  the 
whole  seventeenth  chapter  of  First  Kings, 
and  you  will  see  how  God  blessed  that  good 
woman  for  caring  for  and  feeding  his 
prophet. 

You  save  up  your  pennies  for  the  mission- 
ary work  ;  and  it  may  be  you  go  without 
something  you  want  in  order  to  save  your 
money  for  the  Lord's  cause.  You  give  this 
money,  and  it  goes  into  the  mission  work. 
It  bears  its  fruit,  and  God  will  reward  you  for 
it.  Your  money  does  not  multiply  many- 
fold  while  on  the  way  or  by  use,  as  did  the 
widow's  meal  and  oil.  But  at  the  meeting  of 
the  American  Missionary  Association,  held  at 
Madison,  Wisconsin,  October,  1885,  the  story 


DEGREES  IN  FRUITFULNESS,  91 

of  a  little  girl  in  a  town  in  Austria  was  told, 
which  shows  how  some  things  done  for 
Christ  grow  to  be  great,  a  hundred-fold  and 
more.  She  had  heard  in  one  of  the  schools 
of  the  American  Board  in  Austria,  that  the 
black  children  in  America  greatly  needed 
schools,  and  she  thought  that  she  would  save 
up  all  the  bits  of  money  she  could  and  send 
them  to  educate  the  negroes.  Her  father 
lived  in  a  garret  and  was  so  poor  that  he 
could  buy  meat  only  once  a  week.  One 
day  this  girl  called  for  some  meat,  and  her 
father  said  :  ''Take  your  mission  money  and 
buy  meat  with  it."  But  she  said:  "No; 
that  is  for  the  black  children."  So  she  went 
without  meat.  At  last  a  man  came  to  the 
mission  who  would  bring  her  money  here  to 
America  for  the  negro  schools.  And  how 
much  do  you  think  she  had  in  her  little  box  ? 
She  had  twenty  kreutzer  pieces,  and  each 
piece  was  worth  about  four  cents  of  our  money. 
So  she  had  about  eighty  cents  which  she,  in 
her  want,  had  saved  to  teach  the  black  chil- 
dren of  America.  Mr.  Blatchford,  of  Chicago, 
brought  over  the  twenty  pieces  from  Austria, 
told  how  the  little  girl  had  saved  them,  and 
then  gave  them  to  the  treasurer   to    count. 


92  SERMONS  FOR    CHILDREN. 

And  when  the  treasurer  counted  them,  there 
were  but  nineteen  pieces.  Some  one  had 
taken  out  one  of  the  twenty  kreutzer  pieces, 
worth  about  four  cents,  and  had  put  in  its  place 
five  gold  eagles,  worth  one  hundred  dollars. 
He  paid  one  hundred  dollars  for  the  four  cent 
bit.  Then  the  others  were  sold  to  those  who 
wanted  them,  and  the  little  girl's  gift  of  eighty 
cents  became  three  hundred  and  forty  dol- 
lars. It  yielded  four  hundred  and  twenty- 
five  fold.  Thus  God  blessed  her  faith  and 
self-denial.  She  was  made  a  life  member  of 
the  American  Missionary  Association. 

Because  the  widow's  meal  and  oil  did  not 
fail,  and  this  girl's  money  increased  so  many- 
fold,  we  must  not  think  that  all  acts  of  faith 
and  self-denial  will  do  the  same.  No  ;  one 
yields  a  hundred-fold,  another  thirty.  But  it 
is  comforting  to  think  that  our  little  acts  for 
Christ  will  none  of  them  be  forgotten  by  our 
Lord  and  Saviour.  Let  us  therefore  do  all 
we  can  for  Christ's  sake. 


XIX. 
THE    BOY    ULYSSES    S.    GRANT. 

Render  honour  to  whom  honour  is  due.  —  Rom.  13:   7. 

In  obedience  to  this  text,  the  flags  in  the 
city  are  hung  at  half-mast,  the  City  Hall,  the 
Custom  House,  and  this  and  other  churches 
are  draped  in  mourning,  memorial  services 
are  held  throughout  the  country  and  even  in 
some  other  lands,  and  the  papers  are  full  of 
words  of  honor  :  for  one  has  died  to  whom 
honor  is  due,  and  a  grateful  people  are  ren- 
dering it.  So  I  want  to  tell  you,  children,  of 
the  boy  who  became  so  great  a  man. 

1.  His  birth  was  lowly.  Ulysses  S.  Grant 
was  born  on  April  27,  1822,  at  Point  Pleas- 
ant, Ohio.  His  parents  were  poor,  but  pious 
and  industrious.  They  were  not  able  to  give 
him  much  of  an  education,  but  he  got  an 
appointment  at  West  Point  Military  Academy 
when  seventeen  years  of  age  and  studied 
there. 

2.  He  was  not  the  best  scholar.      He  gave 

93 


94  SERMONS   FOR   CHILDREN. 

little  intellectual  promise.  He  gave  few 
signs  of  what  was  in  him  and  of  what  he 
afterwards  became.  He  entered  West  Point 
in  a  class  of  one  hundred,  which  was  reduced 
to  thirty-six  before  graduation.  Young  Grant 
stood  twenty-first  in  scholarship  in  this  class 
of  thirty-six  ;  yet  he  had  gone  through,  while 
sixty-four  had  dropped  out  of  the  class.  It 
is  not  always  the  brightest  boys  or  the  best 
scholars  that  carry  off  the  highest  honors  of 
life.  He  probably  did  his  best  at  school. 
He  wrote  to  his  father:  "I  don't  expect  to 
make  very  fast  progress,  but  I  shall  try  to 
hold  on  to  what  I  get."  And  he  held  on  to 
it.     For  :  — 

3.  He  had  perseverance.  He  held  on  to 
what  he  got,  and  he  kept  at  a  thing  until  he 
mastered  it.  He  did  not  try  a  thing  for  a 
little  while,  then  give  it  up  for  something 
else,  as  so  many  boys  do.  He  held  on  and 
held  out  to  the  end.  It  was  this  good  habit 
that  helped  him  to  be  so  great.  He  stuck  to 
a  thing  until  he  did  what  he  wanted  to  do. 
He  had  the  gift  of  continuance. 

4.  He  was  a  brave  boy.  He  was  not 
afraid.  When  two  years  old,  they  tried  him 
with  the  noise  of  a  pistol,  which  he  had  never 


THE  BOY   ULYSSES  S.  GRANT. 


95 


heard  before.  He  did  not  flinch,  but  wanted 
to  fire  it  again.  A  by-stander  said:  ''That 
boy  will  make  a  general,  for  he  neither 
winked  nor  dodged."  ''  When  he  was  not 
quite  seven  years  old,  he  one  day  took  out 
of  the  stable  a  three-year-old  colt  that  had 
never  been  worked,  harnessed  him,  drove 
him  off  to  the  woods  for  a  load  of  wood,  and 
drove  him  back  in  triumph  with  only  a  single 
line."  He  had  great  courage  as  a  boy  and 
great  as  a  man. 

5.  He  was  a  faithful  boy.  He  did  every 
thing  as  well  as  he  could.  He  was  so  faithful 
that  when  he  was  only  ten  years  old,  his 
father  used  to  send  him  to  the  city  of  Cin- 
cinnati, forty  miles  away,  to  bring  back  a 
load.  How  few  boys  could  be  trusted  with  a 
team  and  money  for  a  trip  of  eighty  miles ! 
Ulysses  had  such  good  sense  that  he  was 
wont  to  drive  so  far.  He  was  faithful  and 
trusty  as  a  boy,  and  became  a  faithful  and 
trusty  man. 

6.  He  was  a  truthful  boy.  His  father  said 
of  him  :  ''  He  never  tells  lies."  You  could 
depend  upon  what  he  said.  It  was  so  all 
through  his  life.  You  ought  to  be  as  truth- 
ful as  he  was,  and  you  can  be,  if  you  will. 
Try  it.     Never  lie. 


96  SERMONS  FOR    CHILDREN. 

7.  He  minded  his  own  business.  He  did 
not  meddle  with  the  affairs  of  others  ;  not 
because  he  was  careless,  but  because  their 
business  was  not  his  business.  He  attended 
to  his  own  affairs,  and  he  let  others  attend  to 
their  own  affairs.  He  thus  escaped  a  great 
deal  of  trouble  which  he  otherwise  would 
have  had.  His  father  said :  "He  always 
minded  his  own  business." 

8.  He  was  a  silent  boy.  He  did  not  talk 
too  much,  as  many  do.  He  kept  his  mouth 
shut.  He  heard,  said  nothing,  but  acted. 
He  learned  what  was  wanted  to  be  done,  and 
instead  of  talking  about  it,  he  went  to  work 
and  did  it.  He  did  not  boast  what  he  had 
done  or  could  do.  He  did  not  say  what  he 
was  going  to  do.  He  said :  ''I  tried  to  do 
my  duty  as  a  soldier." 

Thus  the  boy  Ulysses  S.  Grant  became  a 
great  mgtn,  a  great  general,  whose  death  is 
now  mourned  by  this  whole  nation  and  by 
other  nations  throughout  the  world. 

You  may  also  be  poor  and  not  the  best 
scholar,  but  you  can  stick  to  a  thing  until 
you  do  it ;  you  can  be  brave,  faithful,  truth- 
ful, as  he  was ;  you  can  mind  your  own 
business   and    not  talk  too    much.     He  was 


THE  BOY   ULYSSES  S.    GRANT. 


97 


not  perfect,  by  any  means.  He  had  his  fauhs. 
But  he  was  not  honored  for  his  faults,  but 
for  his  virtues,  for  his  honesty,  his  truthful- 
ness, his  courage,  his  perseverance,  and  his 
consequent  success. 

He  was  a  great  sufferer  during  his  long 
illness.  But  it  is  said  that  in  his  pain  he 
wrote  on  a  slip  of  paper  a  few  words  which 
he  gave  to  his  son  Fred.  And  these  were 
the  words,  —  and  I  want  you  to  remember 
them,  —  "  I  would  rather  see  you  suffering  as 
I  am,  than  to  see  you  addicted  to  any  vice." 
He  regarded  a  vice  like  drunkenness  as 
something  worse  than  a  cancer.  Let  us  be 
careful  then  to  shun  all  bad  habits,  all  vices, 
as  we  would  a  cancer. 

Let  us  honor  the  man  whose  boyhood  we 
have  given,  for  honor  is  his  due.  He  helped 
to  put  down  the  slave-holders'  rebellion,  and 
to  make  this  nation  one  and  free.  God 
raised  him  up  for  this  purpose,  and  grandly 
did  he  fulfill  it.  Honor  the  name  of  Grant, 
and  imitate  all  his  virtues,  shunning  all  his 
faults. 


XX. 

LITTLE    HELPERS. 

Ye  also  helping  together  on  our  behalf  by  your  supplication.  — 
2  Cor.  I  :  1 1 . 

Some  years  ago  I  saw  several  boys  In  the 
city  drawing  a  large  log  along  the  street  on 
the  snow,  that  they  might  use  it  for  fuel.  It 
was  so  large  and  long  that  not  one  of  them 
could  move  it  alone  ;  but  when  they  pulled 
together,  they  could  drag  it  about  its  length, 
when  they  had  to  rest.  They  tugged  so 
hard  at  it  that  in  pity  I  helped  them.  Then 
it  came  along  more  easily,  but  I  could  not 
have  dragged  it    alone. 

If,  now,  while  the  boys  were  pulling  with  all 
their  might,  others  had  sat  down  on  the  log 
or  had  pulled  the  other  way^  do  you  think 
the  log  could  have  been  drawn  home  ?  No, 
they  could  not  have  moved  it.  It  was  by 
all  pulling  one  way  and  by  pulling  altogether 
that  they  drew  it  home. 

It  is  so  with  every  thing.  When  we  all 
pull,  and  pull  the  same  way,  we  can  do  what 

98 


LITTLE  HELPERS. 


99 


a  few  can  not  do  alone,  or  what  they  can  not 
do  if  some  pull  one  way  and  some  pull  an- 
other. I  want  you  to  remember  this  through 
life. 

"  If  you  have  some  work  to  do,  and  your 
playmates  come  to  see  you,  what  should  you 
do  ?  Not  leave  the  work  and  go  and  play, 
but  let  your  playmates  take  hold  and  help 
you  do  the  work,  and  after  it  is  done  you 
can  play  with  them.  Many  hands  make 
light  work ;  and  work  done  gives  happy  play. 

Your  mothers  have  a  great  deal  to  do,  if 
they  have  no  servants  to  help  them.  And 
did  you  never  think  how  your  little  hands 
can  help  them  ?  Take  hold  and  do  all  you 
can  for  your  mother,  and  so  make  her  work 
lighter.  In  this  way  you  will  be  helping 
together  on  her  behalf. 

Some  of  you  are  little  helpers  in  our 
Sunday-school  and  missionary  meetings  by 
picking  up  and  putting  away  in  their  places 
the  books  and  cards,  and  in  distributing  them 
at  the  beginning.  So  you  help  by  putting 
every  thing  in  its  place. 

I  am  glad  to  say  also  that  you  are  a  great 
help  in  our  prayer-meetings  by  learning  and 
reciting  texts  from  the  Bible.     What  can  be 


lOO  SERMONS  FOR    CHILDREN. 

better  than  for  you  to  stand  up  and  say  a 
verse  full  of  the  truth  and  love  of  your 
Father  in  heaven  ?  Your  pastor  and  parents 
and  all  are  helped  by  what  you  thus  do. 
Then,  the  older  children  help  together  in  the 
meetings  by  reading  from  the  Bible  the 
longer  passages  which  I  sometimes  give 
them,  marked  on  slips  of  paper.  Our  meet- 
ings are  always  good  when  the  children's 
voices  are  thus  heard  in  them  and  in  the 
singing.  Then  again  you  can  help  together 
on  our  behalf  by  your  supplication,  or  prayer, 
as  Paul  said  that  the  Corinthians  could  do 
for  him.  Perhaps  you  never  thought  of  this. 
But  as  you  pray  for  your  father  and  mother, 
you  can  pray  also  for  your  pastor  and  for  the 
church.  I  hope  you  will  try  and  remember 
the  church  of  Christ  which  you  attend  and 
which  you  ought  to  expect  to  join  by- 
and-by,  so  that  you  can  help  it  more.  There 
are  a  great  many  things  which  you  hope  to 
do  when  you  grow  up  ;  but  the  one  which 
you  ought  to  put  first  and  highest  is  this,  to 
be  a  good  church  member.  Pray  that  you 
may  be  kept  from  all  bad  ways  and  be  led  in 
all  good  ways,  and  that  you  may  love  and 
obey  Jesus  Christ,  and  so  be  received  into 


LITTLE  HELPERS.  lOI 

his  Church.  Thus  you  can  be  helpers  to- 
gether. 

*  You  see  that  you  can  be  very  useful  while 
children.  You  do  not  need  to  grow  up 
before  you  can  be  good  and  do  good.  You 
can  give  a  man  a  cup  of  cold  water  in  the 
name  of  Christ  ;  you  can  carry  flowers  to  the 
sick ;  you  can  help  a  poor  boy  or  girl  that  is 
pulling  a  hard  load  ;  you  can  in  pity  wipe  the 
eyes  of  one  who  is  crying ;  you  can  take  the 
part  of  one  whom  the  boys  are  plaguing  ;  you 
can  help  in  the  house,  in  the  Sunday-school, 
in  the  prayer-meeting,  in  the  church ;  indeed, 
you  can  be  little  helpers  in  many  things 
wherever  you  are.  Do  not,  then,  wait  to 
grow  up  before  you  try  to  be  useful.  You 
are  useful  now  when  you  are  pleasant  and 
kind  and  helpful.  I  preach  these  sermons  to 
you  that  you  may  be  more  and  more  useful. 
I  want  you  to  help  God  make  this  world 
better,  and  so  help  every  body  in  it  to  be 
good. 


XXI. 
NOT  CONSENTING  TO   SIN. 

My  son,  if  sinners  entice  thee,  consent  thou  not.  —  Prov.  i :   lo. 

This  text  was  given  me  by  a  little  child, 
with  the  request  that  I  would  preach  a  ser- 
mon on  it.  I  will  in  the  first  place  tell  you 
what  the  text  means. 

That  little  word  "my"  is  one  you  use  a 
great  deal.  My  and  mine  are  the  same. 
You  say,  "My  ball,"  "  my  doll,"  or  "  my  hat," 
when  you  own  it,  or  when  it  belongs  to  you. 
No  one  else  could  say  of  the  same  ball,  doll, 
or  hat,  "  It  is  mine,"  for  it  is  yours,  and  no 
one  else  owns  it. 

The  word  "  son  "  in  the  text  means  the 
same  as  child  ;  that  is,  any  boy  or  girl,  just  as 
all  Christians  are  called  "  sons  of  God."  So 
that  the  text  means  you,  if  you  are  a  girl,  just 
the  same  as  if  you  were  a  boy.  The  word 
man  is  often  used  in  the  same  way  to  include 
men  and  women.  No  one  is  left  out  in  the 
text. 


NOT   CONSENTING    TO   SIN. 


03 


*'  My  son  "  means  that  we  are  all  children 
of  God,  and  that  God  is  our  Father.  He 
has  a  right  to  speak  to  us,  as  your  father 
has  a  right  to  speak  to  you.  Our  Father  in 
heaven  speaks  to  us  in  the  text,  and  what 
does  he  say  ? 

He  says  :  "If  sinners  "  — .  Now  that 
word  *'  if,"  which  is  so  short,  is  a  word  that 
means  a  great  deal.  It  sometimes  means 
that  a  thing  may  not  come  to  pass,  and  yet  it 
may  come  to  pass.  You  say  :  "  I  wall  go,  if 
it  does  not  rain  ;  "  and  you  all  know  that  a 
rain  at  the  time  would  let  you  off  from  going 
without  breaking  your  promise.  But  "  if"  in 
our  text  means  the  same  as  "  when,"  or 
*'  every  time,"  a  thing  comes  to  pass.  We 
could  read  it:   "  Whenever  sinners  entice." 

''  Sinners "  are  all  those  who  do  wrono-, 
who  tell  lies,  swear,  say  nasty  words,  steal 
fruit,  or  do  any  other  naughty  thing.  It 
does  not  make  any  difference  whether  the 
one  be  a  boy  or  a  girl,  or  whether  he  or  she 
dresses  well  or  not ;  all  they  who  do  wrong 
are  sinners. 

'*  If  sinners  entice  thee."  To  entice  is  to 
ask  or  tempt  or  tease  one  to  do  wrong,  to 
lead    one    into    stealing,   lying,   swearing,  or 


I04  SERMONS  FOR    CHILDREN. 

doing  any  bad  thing.  To  entice  is  to  urge 
one  to  sin,  to  laugh  at  him  for  not  sinning, 
to  make  one  feel  ashamed  of  doing  right. 
This  is  what  is  meant  by  that  word  ''entice; " 
and  I  fear  that  some  of  you  are  guilty  of 
enticing  others  to  do  wrong.  But  if  you  do 
not,  others  do.  Hence  God  says  :  "Consent 
thou  not."  To  consent  is  to  do  what  is 
wanted,  to  yield  to  the  one  who  entices,  and 
do  the  wrong.  But  that  short  word  ''  not  " 
just  turns  it  the  other  way.  To  consent  is  to 
yield  ;  to  consent  not  is  not  to  yield,  is  to 
refuse  to  do  the  wrong,  is  to  stand  up  against 
their  jeers  and  do  the  right,  is  not  to  do  what 
they  tempt  you  to  do. 

This  is  the  meaning  of  the  text :  *'  My 
son,  if  sinners  entice  thee,  consent  thou 
not." 

There  is  great  need,  children,  of  your 
learning  this  text  by  heart,  of  your  remem- 
bering it  all  through  life,  and  of  your  obey- 
ing it.  If  that  boy  had  obeyed  it,  he  would 
not  have  been  teased  into  stealing  fruit  the 
other  night.  You  did  not  think  it  would  be 
found  out ;  and  so,  when  they  urged  you, 
you  consented.  You  have  felt  guilty  and 
ashamed  ever  since.     You  wish  you  had  not 


NOT   CONSENTING    TO   SIN 


105 


done  it.  Why  did  you  go  ?  Ah,  you  would 
not  now  feel  as  you  do,  If  you  had  only 
heeded  what  God  said  to  you  :  "  If  sinners 
entice  thee,  consent  thou  not."  You  left  off 
that  "  not "  and  so  consented  when  you 
should  have  refused.  Next  time,  consent 
not. 

It  was  not  because  you  did  not  know  what 
was  right  that  you  did  not  refuse  to  go. 
Their  teasing  was  no  good  reason  for  doing 
wrong  when  God  tells  you  to  do  right. 

I  like  the  child  that  can  say  "  No  "  when 
teased,  and  can  say  it  when  they  keep  on 
enticing,  as  though  he  meant  it  —  "  NO  !  " 
Be  brave.  Do  not  be  ashamed  of  obeying 
God.  Do  not  be  cowards  in  any  thing. 
Never  be  teased  or  enticed  out  of  the  right 
into  the  wrong.  Say  to  them  :  "  It  is  wrong, 
and  I  won't  do  it.  You  may  say  what  you 
please,  but  you  can  never  tease  me  into  say- 
ing or  doing  what  God  forbids."  Say  that, 
and  mean  it,  and  you  will  not  be  enticed  many 
times  by  sinners.     They  will  let  you  alone. 

If  any  one  of  you  should  ask:  "Why 
may  I  not  consent  ?  "  we  would  reply  :  — 

I.  Because  it  is  wrong  to  do  so.  Sinners 
entice  to  evil  ;  they  lead  into  sin  ;  and    if  we 


I06  SERMONS  FOR    CHILDREN. 

consent  to  them,  we  sin  against  our  own 
soul.  We  sin  against  God.  No  ;  sin  is  a 
great  wrong  which  we  ought  never  to  do. 
God  hates  it.  Avoid  it  as  you  would  a  hurt 
of  the  body,  for  it  is  far  worse.  When  sin- 
ners entice  thee,  consent  thou  not,  because  it 
is  wrong  to  do  so. 

2.  Because  God  forbids  you  to  consent  is 
another  reason.  He  says  :  "  Consent  thou 
not."  If  then  you  consent,  you  disobey  him, 
which  you  ought  never  to  do.  God  is  your 
heavenly  Father,  who  is  wise  and  good,  and 
who  has  told  us  what  we  ought  to  do  and 
what  not.  And  it  is  our  duty  to  obey  him 
and  do  just  as  he  wants  us  to  do. 

3.  Because  he  will  punish  us  if  we  do  not 
obey  Him.  Your  fathers  and  mothers  pun- 
ish you,  if  they  are  wise  and  good,  and  you 
love  them  the  more  for  it.  God  says  that  he 
will  punish  the  wicked,  those  that  disobey 
Him.  Obey  him,  then,  and  when  sinners 
entice  thee,  consent  thou  not. 

4.  Because  God  will  reward  you  if  you 
refuse  to  sin,  if  you  do  as  he  wants  you 
to.  You  like  to  have  your  father  and 
mother  say  that  you  have  been  a  good  child, 
and  give  you  some  reward.     God  will  give 


NOT   CONSENTING    TO  SIN.  107 

you,  if  you  do  not  heed  sinners  when  they 
entice  you,  a  great  and  rich  reward.  Win 
this  reward.  He  will  say :  "  Well  done, 
good  and  faithful  son ;  enter  thou  into  the 
joy  of  thy  Lord." 


XXII. 

FAITH    IN   JESUS   CHRIST. 

For  God  so  loved  the  world,  that  he  gave  his  only  begotten  Son, 
that  whosoever  believeth  on  him  should  not  perish,  but  have  eternal 
life.  —  John  3:    16. 

There  are  few  children  who  can  not  repeat 
this  text,  but  there  are  many  who  can  not  tell 
what  it  means.  So  I  am  going  to  tell  you  as 
well  as  I  can  what  it  means  in  part. 

You  know  who  God  is  ;  for  he  made  the 
sun  and  moon  and  the  stars,  and  the  earth 
and  all  that  is  in  them.  He  made  us.  We 
pray  to  and  worship  him. 

You  know  who  his  Son  is.  He  is  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who  came  from  heaven  to 
tell  us  of  heaven  and  the  way  to  go  there. 
He  was  born  of  the  Virgin  Mary,  was  cruci- 
fied for  us,  and  rose  from  the  dead,  and  is 
now  in  heaven,  trying  to  bring  as  many  of 
us  there  as  will  go.  God  so  loved  us  that  he 
gave  his  only  begotten  Son  to  bring  us  to 
heaven. 

How,  then,  can  we  go  there  ?  He  tells  us 
108 


FATTH  IN  JESUS   CHRIST.  IO9 

that  every  one  that  beHeves  on  him  shall  go 
to  heaven.  What  is  it,  then,  to  believe  on 
him,  or  have  faith  in  him  ?  I  want  to  ex- 
plain this  to  you  so  that  you  will  never  forget 
it,  for  it  is  better  for  you  than  gold. 

When  your  father  says,  on  your  asking  him 
for  them  :  ''I  will  get  you  a  pair  of  skates  or 
a  doll,  if  you  will  have  perfect  lessons  for  a 
week,"  do  you  think  he  will  buy  you  the 
skates  or  the  doll  if  you  get  your  lessons 
perfectly  ?  You  say  :  "  Of  course  I  do  ;  I 
know  he  will  get  them  !  "  But  he  may  forget 
his  promise.  "  No,  he  won't ;  or  if  he  does, 
I  will  tell  him  that  I  have  been  perfect,  and 
then  he  will  remember.  I  know  he  will  get 
them."  You  are  right ;  your  father  will  keep 
his  promise  ;  and  because  you  believe  he  will 
do  it,  you  study  hard  that  you  may  be  perfect. 
This  is  faith  in  your  father. 

You  remember  the  woman  who  had  spent 
all  her  money  to  be  cured  of  a  disease  she 
had,  but  was  no  better ;  how,  when  Jesus 
Christ  was  passing  by  with  a  great  crowd 
around  him,  she  crept  up  slyly  and  touched 
the  hem  of  his  garment.  For  she  said  :  "If 
I  can  only  touch  his  clothes,  I  shall  be  well 
again."    She  was  afraid  to  come  up  to  him 


I  I O  SERMONS  FOR    CHILDREN. 

and  ask  him  to  heal  her.  She  was  so  poor, 
and  he  was  so  great,  that  she  did  not  want 
him  to  see  her.  So  she  crept  up  when  there 
were  a  great  many  about  him,  and  just 
touched  the  hem  of  his  garment,  and  was 
cured.  That  was  faith  in  Jesus  Christ.  Any- 
one of  you  could  have  done  as  much  as  that 
if  you  had  lived  then,  and  had  had  faith  in 
Jesus  that  he  could  cure  you.  She  believed 
on  him. 

You  remember,  too,  that  when  Jesus  was 
hanging  on  the  cross  —  not  because  he 
could  not  save  himself,  but  because  he  came 
to  die  for  us  —  one  of  the  robbers  crucified 
with  him  mocked  him  ;  but  the  other  one 
said  :  *'  Jesus,  remember  me  when  thou  com- 
est  in  thy  kingdom."  He  prayed  to  him  to 
forget  him  not  when  he  should  come  again. 
He  believed  on  him.  His  saying  what  he 
did  shows  it.  Jesus  answered  :  "  Verily  I 
say  unto  thee,  To-day  thou  shalt  be  with  me 
in  Paradise."  Jesus  was  walking  one  day 
and  saw  a  man  at  his  office,  and  said  to  him  : 
''  Follow  me  ;  "  and  the  man  left  all  and  fol- 
lowed him  ever  afterwards.  Did  he  believe 
in  Jesus  ?  Yes,  or  he  would  not  have  fol- 
lowed him.  You  do  not  follow  one  unless 
you  believe  in  him. 


FAITH  IN  JESUS   CHRIST.  I  I  I 

You  see  from  these  cases  that  faith  is  be- 
lieving, and  beHeving  with  the  heart,  and  so 
believing  on  one  that  we  shall  act  according 
to  our  belief.  We  believe  on  the  Son  of 
God  when  we  believe  what  Jesus  Christ  says, 
and  so  believe  it  that  we  do  what  he  tells  us 
to  do,  and  refuse  to  do  what  he  forbids. 

And  there  is  not  a  child  here  that  does  not 
know  enough  about  Jesus  Christ  to  believe 
on  him  and  be  saved.  And  I  am  very 
anxious,  children,  that  you  should  believe 
on  him,  and  should  do  so  now.  You  need 
not  wait  to  be  older.  Go  to  him  in  prayer, 
and  ask  him  to  take  you,  and  forgive  your 
sins,  and  make  you  his  dear  children.  Then 
do  every  thing  he  wants  you  to  do.  Your 
teachers  and  parents  want  you  to  believe  on 
Jesus,  and  Jesus  wants  you  to  come  to  him 
more  than  you  can  think.  He  waits  to  re- 
ceive you  as  your  mother  sometimes  waits 
for  you  to  come  home.  Will  you  not  believe 
on  him  ? 


XXIII. 
THE   DUTY   OF   PRAYER. 

And  it  came  to  pass,  as  he  was  praying  in  a  certain  place, 
that  when  he  ceased,  one  of  his  disciples  said  unto  him,  Lord,  teach 
us  to  pray,  even  as  John  also  taught  his  disciples.  —  Luke   1 1  :    I . 

Did  you  say  your  prayers  last  night  and 
this  morning,  children  ?  I  hope  so  ;  but  lest 
you  forget  sometimes,  or  think  it  of  no  use, 
I  will  set  forth  the  duty  of  prayer. 

Our  text  tells  us  that  Jesus  was  praying  in 
a  certain  place  at  a  certain  time.  And  if  he 
prayed,  we  ought  to  pray.  But  he  prayed  a 
great  deal.  He  prayed  when  he  was  bap- 
tized by  John  in  the  Jordan.  He  withdrew 
himself  into  the  deserts  and  prayed.  He 
went  into  a  mountain  to  pray,  and  spent  the 
whole  night  in  prayer  to  God.  Again,  we 
are  told  that  he  was  praying  alone,  and, 
again,  that  he  took  Peter  and  James  and 
John  and  went  up  into  a  mountain  to  pray. 
He  prayed  three  times  when  in  the  garden, 
the  night  before  his  crucifixion  ;  he  prayed 
for  Peter  that  his  faith  might  not  fail  ;   and 


THE  DUTY   OF  PRAYER.  II3 

he  prayed  for  all  his  disciples.  Even  now 
he  intercedes  for  them.  If  Jesus,  the  Son 
of  God,  prayed  so  much,  we  ought  also  to 
pray,  and  pray  a  great  deal,  even  pray 
without  ceasing. 

Our  duty  to  pray  to  God  is  so  clear  "  that 
when  Jesus  ceased,  one  of  his  disciples  said 
unto  Him,  Lord,  teach  us  to  pray."  He 
wanted  to  be  like  his  Lord,  he  wanted  to 
pray  as  He  did.  Jesus  was  past  thirty  years 
of  age,  and  this  disciple  was  a  man  as  old  or 
older  than  Jesus.  If  men,  and  good  men, 
could  thus  pray,  how  much  more  should  chil- 
dren pray ! 

But  this  follower  of  Jesus  did  not  know 
how  to  pray  as  well  as  he  wished  to.  He  did 
not  know  what  to  pray  about,  or  what  to  say 
in  his  prayer,  and  so  he  asked  Jesus  to  tell 
him  how  to  pray. 

It  seems  that  others  did  not  know  how  to 
pray,  for  he  adds  :  ''  Even  as  John  also 
taught  his  disciples."  This  John  was  John 
the  Baptist,  not  John  the  aposde,  who  wrote 
the  Fourth  Gospel,  and  three  short  Episdes, 
and  the  book  of  Revelation.  John  the  Bap- 
tist was  six  months  older  than  Jesus  ;  he 
came  to  tell  people  to  repent  of  sin,  and  be 


114  SERMONS  FOR    CHILDREN. 

ready  when  Jesus  Christ  should  come ;  he 
baptized  Jesus  and  said  :  '^Behold,  the  Lamb 
of  God,  which  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the 
world  !  "  Herod,  the  king,  had  already  put 
to  death  this  John  before  Jesus  prayed  the 
prayer  referred  to  in  our  text.  But  John 
the  Baptist  had  taught  his  disciples  how  to 
pray,  so  that  they  might  ask  aright.  And 
this  disciple  also  wanted  to  be  taught 
to  pray  aright.  Jesus  told  him  what  to 
pray  for,  and  also  to  pray  earnestly  and 
in  confidence.  He  must  mean  what  he 
says,  want  what  he  prays  for,  and  ask  for 
it  as  if  he  expected  to  get  it.  For 
Jesus  adds:  ''Ask,  and  it  shall  be  given 
you ;  seek,  and  ye  shall  find  ;  knock,  and 
it  shall  be  opened  unto  you."  You  know 
how  it  is  when  you  want  a  piece  of  bread. 
You  ask  for  it  as  if  you  wanted  it ;  and  if  it  is 
not  given  you  at  once,  you  ask  again  and 
again,  until  you  get  it.  It  is  so  that  we  are 
to  ask  of  God,  only  we  must  let  him  in  his 
love  do  as  he  thinks  best  for  us. 

But  you  say:  "I  am  so  young  that  I  do 
not  know  what  to  say  in  my  prayers.  I 
would  pray,  if  only  I  knew  how  to  pray; 
because  I  think  God  is  so  good  that  I  ought 


THE  DUTY  OF  PRAYER. 


115 


to  thank  him  and  pray  to  him.  Who  shall 
teach  me  as  John  taught  his  disciples?"  We 
answer  that  Jesus  taught  his  followers  how 
to  pray,  and  that  his  prayer  is  given  in  the 
sixth  chapter  of  Matthew.  I  suppose  you  can 
say  it ;  but  if  you  can  not,  learn  it  at  once  by 
heart,  for  I  am  going  to  explain  that  prayer  to 
you  in  several  sermons.  If  you  learn  that 
prayer  by  heart,  you  can  always  pray  unto  God. 

Then  your  parents  will  teach  you  to  pray 
in  other  words,  so  you  can  tell  God  what  you 
want  to  say  to  him. 

God  is  your  Father  in  heaven,  and  it  is 
your  duty  to  pray  to  him  and  to  sing  to  him, 
thus  to  worship  him.  We  want  you,  there- 
fore, to  pray  in  your  homes  morning  and 
night,  and  at  other  times  when  you  feel  that 
you  ought.  We  want  you  to  pray  short, 
child-like  prayers  in  our  meetings.  We  want 
you  to  pray  in  the  church  service,  joining 
your  voices  with  those  of  your  parents  in  the 
Lord's  Prayer  and  in  the  singing.  We  want 
you  children  thus  to  take  part  in  prayer  and 
praise,  because  you  can  do  it,  because  it  Is 
your  duty  to  do  it,  and  because  Christ  has 
taught  you  how  to  pray  and  sing.  Never 
forget  to  say  your  prayers. 


XXIV. 
THE   MANNER   OF   PRAYER. 

After  this  manner  therefore  pray  ye.  —  Matt.  6 :  9. 

There  is  a  manner  that  is  proper  in  prayer 
and  one  that  is  not  proper,  just  as  there  are 
•words  fit  to  be  used  when  we  speak  to  God 
and  words  that  are  not  fit  to  be  used.  So  let 
us  speak  of  the  manner  to  be  observed  in 
prayer. 

Shall  we  kneel,  or  stand,  or  bow  upon  our 
face  on  the  ground,  when  we  pray,  or  what 
shall  be  our  position  ?  When  our  Saviour 
suffered  his  agony  in  the  garden,  he  prayed 
to  his  Father  falling  on  his  face.  So  we  may 
fall  on  our  faces  when  we  are  in  great  sorrow 
and  pray.  But  the  common  way  in  private 
and  family  prayer  is  to  kneel ;  and  in  public 
prayer  the  proper  way  is  usually  to  stand. 
The  eyes  should  be  shut  and  the  hands 
either  clasped  or  extended  towards  heaven. 
In  every  case  we  should  take  an  attitude  of 
great   reverence. 

u6 


THE  MANNER    OF  PRA  YER.  \  \  7 

We  must  not  repeat  the  same  words  over 
and  over  and  over  again  in  prayer,  as  though 
God  did  not  hear  us.  When  we  are  very 
much  in  trouble  or  very  earnest,  we  may 
repeat  the  same  words  a  few  times,  as  Jesus 
did  in  the  garden  in  his  agony.  But  we 
must  not  do  as  the  heathen  do,  repeat  the 
same  prayer  over  hundreds  of  times.  They 
sometimes  paste  or  write  a  prayer  on  a  boy's 
wind-mill  or  water-wheel,  that  every  turn  of 
the  mill  or  wheel  may  be  called  a  prayer. 
How  foolish,  to  think  that  a  wheel  can  pray 
for  them,  when  all  true  prayer  comes  from 
the  heart.  It  would  not  be  the  right  way  to 
do  to  go  down  by  the  post-office  or  to  some 
corner  of  the  street,  where  men  are  all  the 
time  passing,  and  there  offer  up  our  prayers ; 
for  we  should  not  pray  to  be  seen  of  men. 
That  would  be  wrong.  We  pray  to  God, 
not  to  men  ;  and  we  pray  that  God  may  hear 
and  answer,  and  not  to  be  seen.  Hence 
Jesus  tells  us,  when  we  pray,  to  enter  into 
the  inner  chamber  and  shut  the  door,  and 
pray  to  our  Father  who  is  in  secret, 
and  he  shall  reward  us ;  for  then  we  do 
not  pray  to  be  seen  of  men.  Of  course, 
in    the    prayer-meetings  and    in    the    church 


I  I  8  SEKAIONS  FOR    CHILDREN. 

service,  and  at  some  other  times,  we  must 
pray  in  public,  when  all  are  worshiping 
God ;  but  such  praying  is  not  to  be  seen  of 
men.  It  is  public  worship.  To  pray  then 
to  be  seen  of  men  would  be  the  same  as  if 
the  choir  were  to  sing  God's  praise  to  be  seen 
of  men.  Nothing  in  the  public  worship  should 
be  done  that  men  may  admire  it,  but  that  God 
may  bless  it,  otherwise  it  has  no  reward. 

You  have  read  and  studied  how  Elijah,  the 
prophet  of  God,  met  the  prophets  of  Baal  on 
Mount  Carmel  (i  Kings  i8:  18-40),  that 
the  children  of  Israel  might  know  which  w^as 
the  ever-living  and  true  God.  The  prophets 
of  Baal  cried  out:  '^  O  Baal,  hear  us;  O 
Baal,  hear  us,"  from  morning  until  noon  ; 
but  he  did  not  answer.  He  was  a  dead  idol, 
the  work  of  men's  hands,  like  all  other 
idols.  "  They  have  mouths,  but  they  speak 
not ;  eyes  have  they,  but  they  see  not ; 
they  have  ears,  but  they  hear  not;  noses 
have  they,  but  they  smell  not  ;  they  have 
hands,  but  they  handle  not ;  feet  have  they, 
but  they  walk  not ;  neither  speak  they  through 
their  throat."  So  the  prophets  of  Baal  prayed 
in  vain.  But  when  Elijah,  the  prophet  of 
God,  prayed    a  few  words,  fire  came    down 


THE  MANNER    OF  PR  A  YER.  I  i  9 

from  heaven  and  the  chosen  sign  was  given. 
God  heard  and  answered,  for  he  is  the  living 
and  true  God,  our  God.  He  knows  what  we 
need,  so  that  we  should  not  cry  unto  him  all 
the  day  long.  But  when  we  pray  to  him,  we 
should  use  fit  and  proper  words,  for  he  is  a 
great  God,  Lord  of  lords,  and  King  of  kings. 
Words  of  love  and  reverence  are  to  be  used, 
and  you  are  to  tell  God  just  what  you  want, 
using  no  bad  or  unfit  words,  not  talking  to 
God  as  you  would  to  an  equal,  but  worship- 
ing him  in  your  songs  and  prayers.  As 
your  attitude  is  that  of  reverence,  your  words 
also  should  be  full  of  reverence  and  godly 
fear,  and  yet  full  of  confidence  and  love. 

That  we  might  know  just  how  to  pray  unto 
God,  Jesus  gave  us  a  short  prayer,  which  you 
can  repeat  in  less  than  a  minute.  He  said : 
"  After  this  manner  therefore  pray  ye,"  and 
then  repeated  the  prayer  which  is  called  the 
Lord's  Prayer.  Every  child  should  be  able 
to  repeat  this  prayer,  as  it  is  given  in  Mat- 
thew 6  :  9-13,  so  as  to  say  it  exactly. 

If  all  our  prayers  are  after  the  same 
manner,  they  will  be  right  in  form ;  and  if 
our  hearts  are  full  of  penitence  and  love, 
they  will  be  right  in  spirit. 


XXV. 

THE  ADDRESS  OF  THE  LORD'S 
PRAYER. 

Our  Father  which  art  in  heaven.  —  Matt.  6 :  9. 

When  we  pray  we  speak  to  God,  we 
address  him,  we  say  something  to  him.  We 
call  him  by  his  name  that  he  may  know  that 
we  are  speaking  to  him.  When  a  child  says: 
"  Papa,  please  give  me  a  piece  of  bread," 
that  child  addresses  his  father  and  asks 
for  bread,  and  the  word  ''papa"  shows 
whom  he  is  speaking  to,  or  addressing, 
and  is  called  the  address.  ''  So  the  words 
''  my  papa,"  or  ''  dear  papa,"  or  ''  our  papa 
who  loves  us,"  tell  who  is  meant,  and  are 
called  the  address.  Hence  the  words  which 
begin  the  Lord's  Prayer,  ''  Our  Father  which 
art  in  heaven,"  are  called  the  address, 
because  they  show  that  we  are  praying  to 
God,  and  not  to  dead  idols. 

Let  us  study  the  meaning  of  the  address 
in  the  Lord's  Prayer. 


ADDRESS   OF   THE  LORD'S  PRAYER.         121 

I.  In  the  address  we  call  God  Father. 
And  why?  I  think  that  if  you  had  before 
you  all  the  prayers  ever  uttered  by  the 
heathen  you  would  not  find  one  that  calls  an 
idol  "  father."  There  is  no  prayer  in  the 
Old  Testament  that  calls  God  Father,  though 
God  is  several  times  called  Father  in  it. 
Why,  then,  did  Christ  teach  his  disciples  to 
call  God  by  that  dear  and  common  name 
Father  ? 

One  reason  is,  because  God  made  us.  He 
created  the  sun,  the  moon,  the  stars,  the 
earth,  and  all  that  is  in  them.  Of  course  he 
made  us,  and  so  he  is  our  Father.  Men  make 
many  things,  but  always  out  of  the  things 
which  God  created.  They  make  a  house, 
but  they  build  it  out  of  the  wood,  or  stone, 
or  clay  baked  into  brick,  which  God  created. 
Men  built  this  church,  but  they  built  it  out  of 
stuff  that  God  created.  You  were  born  into 
homes  where  your  father  and  mother  love 
you,  but  God  created  you,  and  so  Jesus  tells 
us  to  call  him,  when  we  pray,  by  the  dear 
name  of  father.     This  is  one  reason. 

But  God  loves  us  and  cares  for  us,  and 
this  is  another  reason  why  he  taught  us  to 
call  him  Father.     Your  father  loves  you  and 


122  SERMONS  FOR    CHILDREN. 

cares  for  you.  He  works  and  buys  your 
clothes  and  food  and  toys  and  books,  and 
gives  you  a  nice  home.  But  God  makes  the 
food  and  cotton  and  wool  and  silk  to  grow 
for  our  use.  He  makes  the  sun  to  shine, 
the  rain  to  fall,  the  grass  to  grow,  the  flowers 
to  bloom,  the  birds  to  sing,  the  trees  to  bear 
fruit,  so  that  God  cares  for  us  more  than 
parents  can.  God  numbers  the  hairs  of  your 
head,  but  your  mother  who  combs  your  hair 
so  nicely  does  not  know  how  many  hairs 
there  are  on  your  head.  Because  God  loves 
us  and  cares  for  us,  we  should  call  him 
Father. 

There  is  another  reason  why  we  should 
call  him  Father.  God  saves  all  who  will  let 
him  save  them.  Your  father  with  his  strong 
arms  picks  you  up  and  carries  you  over  bad 
and  dangerous  places  ;  he  would  snatch  you 
out  of  the  fire  if  you  should  fall  into  it ;  he 
would  save  you  from  sickness  and  death  and 
sin,  if  he  could.  But  God  will  save  your 
soul  if  you  will  obey  him  ;  he  will  forgive 
you  if  you  will  ask  him  ;  and  he  will  take 
you  to  heaven  when  you  die,  if  you  will  keep 
his  word. 

Thus  Jesus  taught  us  to  call  God  Father 


ADDRESS   OF   THE   LORD'S  PRAYER.        1 23 

because  he  made  us,  because  he  takes  care 
of  us,  and  because  he  will  save  us,  if  we 
will  only  love  and  obey  him. 

2.  In  this  address  we  call  God  our  Father. 
Why  did  Jesus  teach  us  to  say  ''  Our  Father," 
and  not  ''  My  Father,"  or  simply  "  Father"? 
It  is  because  we  are  all  of  one  family,  and 
God  is  the  Father  of  us  all.  He  is  my  Father, 
your  Father,  the  Indian's  Father,  the  Negro's 
Father,  the  Chinese's  Father.  He  is  the  poor 
man's  Father,  the  rich  man's  Father,  every 
body's  Father;  and  so  we  say  "  Our  Father" 
because  we  are  all  his  children,  and  no  one 
but  those  who  obey  him  has  a  special  claim 
on  God's  love  and  care. 

There  is  a  great  difference  between  mine 
and  ours.  If  you  have  a  book  bought  with 
your  own  money,  you  can  say  of  it :  ''  This  is 
my  book."  But  if  all  the  children  in  the 
family  pay  for  the  book  out  of  their  own 
money,  and  one  pays  as  much  as  another,  no 
one  of  them  can  say:  ''This  is  my  book," 
but  each  must  say:  "This  is  our  book  —  my 
book,  my  brothers'  and  sisters'  book,  as  well 
as  mine."  So  we  say  of  God  that  he  is  our 
Father,  because  each  one  has  the  same  in- 
terest in  him.     He  is  not  the  Father  of  one, 


124  SERMONS  FOR    CHILDREN. 

and  not  of  another,  but  the  Father  of  all 
alike.     This  is  why  we    say    ''  Our  Father." 

3.  In  the  address  we  say:  "Our  Father 
which  art  in  heaven."  Why  did  Jesus  add 
the  words,  "  which  art  in  heaven"?  Because 
he  did  not  want  any  one,  not  even  a  little 
child,  to  think  that  a  poor,  weak,  dying  man, 
like  your  father,  was  to  be  prayed  to,  but 
God,  who  fills  heaven,  and  who  shows  his 
glory  there  as  he  does  not  on  earth.  God 
dwells  in  heaven,  and  he  will  bring  us  there 
if  we  love  and  obey  him,  that  we  may  see 
him  as  he  is.     We  are  to  pray  to  him  alone. 

It  is  to  this  God,  "  Our  Father  which  art 
in  heaven,"  and  to  no  other,  that  Jesus  teaches 
us  to  pray.  He  is  the  only  God,  the  living 
and  true  God.  He  is  our  Father  in  heaven. 
He  loves  us,  he  pities  us,  he  cares  for  us,  he 
saves  us.  We  ought  then  to  pray  to  him 
every  day.  Nothing  could  be  more  fitting 
and  beautiful  and  better  than  to  pray  to,  and 
trust  in,  our  Father  in  heaven.  Pray  to  him 
morning  and  evening,  and  our  Father  will 
hear  and  bless  you. 

"  Let  life  bring  what  it  may, 

I  will  pray ; 
If  I  can  not  understand, 
I  will  hold  my  Father's  hand 

All  the  way." 


XXVI. 

FIRST    PETITION    OF    THE 
LORD'S    PRAYER. 

Hallowed  be  thy  name.  —  Matt.  6 :  9. 

This  is  the  first  thinor  asked  for  in  the 
Lord's  Prayer.  It  is  the  first  petition.  You 
have  said  it  for  years,  but  do  you  know 
what  it  means  ?  What  is  it  that  you  pray  for 
when  you  say  :  "  Hallowed  be  thy  name  "  ? 

1.  By  name  is  meant  all  that  God  is. 
He  is  the  Maker  of  all  things,  the  Giver 
of  all  things,  the  great  and  good  God.  As 
the  name  papa  means  all  that  your  father 
is  to  you,  so  the  name  of  God  means  all 
that  God  is  to  us  and  to  all  other  beings. 
Hence  it  is  said  :  "  Thou  shalt  not  take  the 
name  of  the  Lord  thy  God  in  vain  ;  "  and  in 
the  text :  ''  Hallowed  be  thy  name."  Name 
here  stands  for  God's  person  himself,  as  made 
known  to  us  in  any  way ;  as  your  name 
stands   for   yourself. 

2.  *'  Hallowed  be  thy  name."  To  hallow 
the  name  of   God    is  to  treat  or   regard    his 

125 


126  SERMONS  FOR    CHILDREN. 

name  as  holy,  sinless,  sacred,  worthy  of 
worship.  We  should  not  make  it  common, 
we  should  not  take  it  in  vain,  we  should  not 
profane  it,  we  should  not  make  light  of  it, 
we  should  desire  God  to  be  loved  and 
obeyed,  as  he  ought  to  be  by  all  men. 
How  can  we  hallow  his  name  ? 

(i)  We  hallow  God's  name  every  time  we 
pray  to  him,  for  we  then  speak  to  him  as 
God,  and  honor  him  with  our  worship.  We 
show  our  need  of  him,  and  regard  him  as 
holy,  just,  and  good.  We  reverence  him  in 
saying  as  we  ought  our  prayers.  This  is  one 
way  to  hallow  God's  name. 

(2)  We  hallow  God's  name  every  time  we 
go  to  church,  if  we  go  as  we  ought  to  go. 
The  church  is  the  house  of  God.  If  we  go 
into  it  to  worship  him,  we  honor  him,  we 
hallow  his  name.  We  make  his  name  sacred 
and  holy  in  our  thoughts.  W^e  show  our 
reverence    for   him.     We    hallow    his    name. 

(3)  We  hallow  God's  name  by  using  his 
name  with  feelings  of  awe,  reverence,  honor, 
love.  If  you  use  his  name  in  vain,  or  in 
swearing,  you  do  not  hallow  it.  How  do  you 
speak  of  your  father  ?  Would  you  call  him 
names  ?     Would  you  like  it  if  others  called 


FIRST  PETITION. 


127 


him  names,  or  spoke  of  him  as  they  ought 
not  ?  Of  course  not.  Why  then  should  you 
not  feel  bad  when  boys  call  God  names,  or 
speak  his  name  with  contempt  ?  Never  take 
the  name  of  our  Father  which  is  in  heaven 
in  vain. 

(4)  We  hallow  God's  name  by  devout  con- 
duct where  God  is  worshiped.  You  should 
kneel  with  others  at  family  worship,  or  wher- 
ever private  prayer  is  offered.  If  you  sit 
when  others  kneel,  or  if  you  hold  your  heads 
up  and  gaze  about,  when  others  bow  their 
heads  in  prayer,  you  do  not  hallow  God's 
name.  You  should  kneel  and  bow  your 
heads,  and  so  treat  God  as  sacred,  holy, 
worthy  of   our    worship. 

So  we  can  not  pray  this  prayer  aright  if 
we  whisper  or  play  during  prayers  or  while 
others  worship.  We  should  never  thus 
profane  his  name,  but  hallow  it  by  devout 
conduct. 

(5)  You  hallow  God's  name  by  trying  to 
be  holy  as  he  is.  He  says  :  "Be  ye  holy; 
for  I  am  holy."  You  try  to  be  like  your 
father  or  mother.  You  want  to  be  as  tall 
and  as  strong  and  as  good  as  they.  You 
put  on    their  clothes  that    you  may  be  like 


128  SERMONS  FOR    CHILDREN. 

them.  Now,  why  should  you  not  try  to  be 
like  our  Father  in  heaven  ?  He  is  holy,  and 
we  should  try  to  be  ;  he  never  does  wrong, 
and  we  should  try  to  cease  to  do  evil  and 
learn  to  do  well.  If  we  try  to  be  like  him, 
he  will  help  us  and  make  us  like  him.  By 
thus  trying  to  be  holy,  you  hallow  God's 
name. 

(6)  You  hallow  the  name  of  God  by  getting 
others  to  treat  God  as  they  ought.  They 
perhaps  will  try  to  do  as  you  do  ;  and  besides, 
you  can  say  to  them  what  you  think  is  proper 
and  right.  If  they  find  out  that  it  grieves 
you  to  have  them  treat  God  as  they  ought 
not,  they  may  quit  it.  It  is  a  great  thing  to 
get  others  to  hallow  the  name  of  our  Father 
in  heaven.  It  is  the  noblest  and  best  thing 
we  can  do  in  life.  We  want  you  to  hallow 
God's  name,  and  we  want  you  to  get  others 
to  hallow  God's  name. 

3.  You  should  ever  pray  this  prayer  unto 
God  :  "  Hallowed  be  thy  name."  It  is  not 
enough  to  ask  him  for  the  things  you  want 
for  yourself.  You  must  begin  by  asking  God 
to  cause  his  own  name  to  be  hallowed  and 
exalted  among  men,  until  every  idol  is 
destroyed,  every  profane  oath    is   put  away, 


FIRST  PETITION. 


129 


and  all  men  are  holy.  If  any  of  your  play- 
mates take  God's  name  in  vain,  you  must  ask 
God  to  lead  them  to  honor  and  obey  him. 
This  is  the  first  thing  we  should  ask  God 
to  do,  for  he  is  a  great  and  good  King,  and 
men  are  made  better  by  honoring  him. 

Thus  you  see  that  these  four  words  have 
a  great  deal  in  them.  When  we  say, 
"  Hallowed  be  thy  name,"  we  pray  that 
we  and  others  may  treat  God's  name  as 
sacred,  holy,  so  that  no  one  will  take  it 
in  vain,  or  act  in  times  of  worship  as  though 
God  is  of  little  account.  If  we  hallow  his 
name  we  shall  not  whisper  or  play  where 
God  is  worshiped,  but  be  reverent,  bowing 
our  heads  or  kneeling,  as  others  do.  We 
shall  pray  also  that  God  may  make  his  name 
great  in  all  the  earth,  until  all  shall  worship 
and  obey  him.  "  Blessing,  and  glory,  and 
wisdom,  and  thanksgiving,  and  honour,  and 
power,  and  might,  be  unto  God  for  ever 
and    ever.     Amen." 


XXVII. 

SECOND    PETITION    OF    THE 
LORD'S   PRAYER. 

Thy  kingdom  come.  —  Matt.  6:    lo. 

After  we  have  prayed  that  God's  name 
may  be  hallowed,  we  are  taught  to  pray  that 
God's  kingdom  may  come.  But  what  do  we 
mean  by  praying,  "  Thy  kingdom  come  "? 

1.  God  is  a  great  King.  A  king  is  a  ruler, 
the  first,  the  highest  ruler.  God  is  King  in 
heaven  and  on  earth,  and  so  he  is  called 
Lord  of  lords  and  King  of  kings.  He  is 
greater  than  all  the  kings  and  rulers  of  the 
earth  put  together.  He  is  a  good,  holy, 
glorious  King. 

2.  God  has  a  kingdom.  A  kingdom  is  a 
people  ruled  by  a  king.  God's  kingdom  in- 
cludes citizens,  laws,  and  all  else  that  goes  to 
the  making  of  a  kingdom.  Now  God  rules 
all  men,  but  all  will  not  own  his  rule.  Some 
break  his  laws,  resist  him,  and  will  not  have 
him  to  rule  over  them.  It  is  with  him  as  it 
sometimes   is    in   school,   when   the  scholars 

130 


SE  COND  PE  TIT  ION.  1 3  I 

will  not  obey  the  teacher.  She  has  a  right 
to  tell  them  what  to  do,  and  what  not  to  do  ; 
but  they  rebel  against  her ;  they  want  to  do 
just  as  they  please  ;  they  will  not  mind  ;  they 
try  to  get  others  to  join  them,  that  they  may 
break  up  the  school.  They  are  very  bad 
boys  and  girls,  and  will  be  bad  men  and 
women  if  they  do  not  learn  to  do  better. 
Do  not  go  with  them.  So  men  will  not  obey 
God ;  they  do  not  like  his  laws ;  they  want 
to  do  just  as  they  please ;  and  they  try  to 
get  others  to  join  them.  They  say  and  do 
very  wicked  things.  Yet  God  loved  them 
and  set  up  a  new  kind  of  a  kingdom  among 
them,  and  made  Jesus  Christ  his  Son,  the 
King  of  this  new  kind  of  a  kingdom.  He 
came  to  tell  them  that  if  they  will  be  sorry  for 
sin,  so  sorry  as  to  turn  away  from  it,  and  if 
they  will  come  to  him  and  follow  him,  he  will 
forgive  their  sins  and  make  them  citizens  in 
his  new  kingdom,  and  they  shall  be  saved  in 
heaven  when  they  die.  It  is  this  new  kind 
of  a  kingdom,  called  in  the  New  Testament 
the  kingdom  of  God  and  the  kingdom  of 
heaven,  that  is  spoken  of  in  our  text.  We 
pray  for  it  when  we  say :  "  Thy  kingdom 
come." 


132  SERAfONS  FOR    CHILDREN. 

3.  What  do  we  mean  by  "  come"  in  this 
petition  ?  This  is  the  important  part  of  the 
prayer,  so  we  will  try  to  make  you  under- 
stand it,  if  you  will  listen  carefully.  Every 
one  who  obeys  and  follows  Christ,  the  King, 
becomes  a  citizen  of  this  new  kingdom  ;  and 
every  one  who  does  not  obey  and  follow 
Christ  is  not  a  citizen  in  this  blessed  king- 
dom. Every  really  pious  man  and  woman, 
boy  and  girl,  is  a  follower  of  Christ  and  a 
member  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  It  mat- 
ters not  where  he  lives,  what  his  name  is, 
what  his  color  is,  what  church  he  attends, 
how  he  dresses,  how  old  he  is,  if  he  truly 
loves  and  obeys  the  King,  Jesus  Christ,  he  is 
a  citizen  of  the  kingdom.  But  if  he  does 
not  love  and  obey  the  King,  but  breaks  his 
laws  and  uses  his  name  in  vain,  he  is  not  a 
citizen  of  the  kingdom,  no  matter  how  much 
he  knows,  how  rich  he  is,  how  well  he 
dresses,  or  in  what  house  he  lives. 

Now,  the  kingdom  comes  whenever  the 
bad  become  good,  the  wicked  become  pious, 
or  those  who  are  out  of  the  kingdom  come 
into  it ;  and  so  when  we  pray  for  it  to  come, 
we  pray  that  men  and  children  may  turn  unto 
the    Lord,   our   King,  and  be  good.     When 


SECOND  PETITION. 


133 


one  gives  his  heart  to  Christ,  the  kingdom  Is 
coming.  When  many  thus  learn  to  love 
him,  the  kingdom  is  coming  more  rapidly. 
If  all  men  would  love  and  obey  Christ,  the 
kingdom  would  be  come.  Then  every  knee 
would  bow  and  every  tongue  confess  that  he 
is  Lord  and  King,  to  the  glory  of  God  the 
Father. 

But  this  is  not  all.  When  one  gives  his 
heart  to  God  and  owns  Christ  as  Kino-,  he 
find  that  he  is  not  as  good  as  he  wants  to  be. 
So  he  tries  to  be  better  and  still  better  year  by 
year.  He  grows  in  grace  and  in  knowledge. 
He  runs  a  race.  He  grows  more  and  more 
like  Christ  his  King,  so  that  the  kingdom 
comes  in  his  heart.  It  is  all  the  time  com- 
ing. Jesus  likened  it  to  leaven  that  a  woman 
took  and  hid  in  meal  till  it  was  all  leavened. 
You  sometimes  watch  your  mother  make 
bread.  She  puts  water  and  other  things  into 
the  flour,  but  it  will  not  make  good  bread 
until  she  mixes  in  a  little  leaven  and  puts 
it  in  a  warm  place  to  rise,  as  she  says  ;  that  is, 
until  the  leaven  gets  into  every  part  of  the 
dough  and  grows  and  makes  the  dough 
light ;  then  she  prepares  it  and  bakes  it,  and 
you  have  good  bread  to  eat.  But  it  is  the 
leaven    hidden    in   the   douorh   that  makes  it 


134 


SERMONS  FOR    CHILDREN. 


light  and  good.  So  It  is  the  kingdom  of 
heaven  in  our  hearts  that  grows  and  makes 
us  good. 

But  this  is  not  all.  The  kingdom  comes 
also  by  the  growth  of  the  churches.  As 
men  become  Christians  they  are  required  by 
their  King  to  join  his  Church.  It  is  a  sin  for 
them  to  stay  out  of  his  Church.  By  joining 
the  church  they  tell  others  that  they  are  on 
the  Lord's  side,  and  that  is  a  great  thing. 
But  the  Church  is  for  the  nurture  of  Chris- 
tians, as  the  home  is  for  the  nurture  and 
training  of  children.  What  would  the  little 
children  do  without  the  tender  care  of  the 
home  ?  And  when  a  child  is  born  into  the 
kingdom  of  heaven,  what  would  he  do  but 
for  the  Church,  the  Christian's  home  ?  He 
should  hasten  to  join  the  church  that  he  may 
be  cared  for  and  fitted  for  heaven. 

God  is,  then,  a  great  and  glorious  King. 
He  has  set  up  a  new  and  peculiar  kingdom 
in  the  world  among  sinners,  that  they  may 
repent,  believe,  and  be  forgiven.  And  his 
kingdom  comes  as  men  are  converted  unto 
him,  as  they  grow  better  in  holy  living,  and 
as  they  join  his  churches,  to  be  taught,  cared 
for,  and  nurtured  for  heaven.  We  mean  all 
this  when  we  pray  :   "  Thy  kingdom  come." 


XXVIII. 

THIRD     PETITION     OF    THE 
LORD'S     PRAYER. 

Thy  will  be  done,  as  in  heaven,  so  on  earth.  —  Matt.  6 :  lo. 

If  I  were  to  tell  you,  children,  in  what 
you  are  alike,  and  in  what  you  are  like 
every  body  else,  what  do  you  think  it  would 
be  ?  There  are  a  great  many  things  that 
you  are  not  alike  in,  but  you  are  all  alike 
in  this,  that  you  want  to  have  your  own  way, 
that  you  want  to  do  as  you  please.  And  the 
very  hardest  thing  for  you  to  do  is  to  yield  up 
your  will  to  the  will  of  another.  Hence, 
when  your  parents  or  teachers  tell  you  to 
do  something  you  do  not  like  to  do,  you 
find  it  so  hard  to  obey  them  that  you  cry 
and  resist  and  hold  out  as  long  as  you  can. 
Is  it  not  so  ?     I  know  it  is. 

You  need,  then,  to  pray  the  prayer  of  the 
text,  and  say:  "Thy  will  be  done,  as  in 
heaven,  so  on  earth."  But  you  say  that  this 
text  does  not  mean  my  father's  will,  or  my 

135 


T36  SERMONS  FOR    CHILDREN 

mothers  will,  or  my  teacher's  will.     Let  us 
see  about  it. 

1.  Whose  will  is  here  meant?  You  re- 
member that  the  prayer  begins  :  ''  Our  Father 
which  art  in  heaven."  Now  that  little  word 
'*  thy "  shows  that  it  is  God's  will  that  is 
spoken  of;  for  God  is  our  Father  in  heaven. 
We  pray  that  God's  will  may  be  done. 

2.  What  is  God's  will?  You  do  not  hear 
him  speak,  as  you  hear  your  parents  and 
teachers  speak ;  how  then  can  you  tell  what 
God's  will  is  ?  We  answer :  You  need  not 
know  what  God's  will  is  in  order  to  pray 
the  prayer  ''Thy  will  be  done."  You  should 
desire  God's  will  to  be  done  because  God's 
will  is  right  and  just  and  good,  as  he  himself 
is.  But  God  has  given  us  the  Bible  to 
tell  us  what  his  will  is.  We  can  learn  his 
will  by  reading  it,  as  you  could  learn  your 
absent  mother's  will  by  reading  a  letter  she 
should  write  and  send  you.  He  tells  us  in 
the  Bible  that  it  is  against  his  will  for  us 
to  lie  or  steal  or  cheat  or  swear  or  use  vile 
words  or  disobey  parents  ;  and  the  like.  He 
tells  us  in  it  that  it  is  his  will  that  we  should 
love  and  obey  him  and  our  parents  ;  that  we 
should  be  truthful,  honest,  and  good,  and  that 


THIRD  PETITION. 


137 


we  should  always  do  right.  He  tells  us 
that  we  should  treat  others  as  we  should  wish 
them  to  treat  us  If  we  were  In  their  place. 
He  tells  us  that  we  ought  to  go  to  church  to 
worship  him,  and  pray  and  give  of  our  money 
to  the  church  and  the  missionary  work.  And 
many  things  he  tells  us  In  the  Bible  which 
we  should  read  and  find  out,  that  we  may 
do  them. 

3.  How  should  God's  will  be  done?  Our 
text  tells  us :  "  As  In  heaven,  so  on  earth." 
How,  then,  is  God's  will  done  in  heaven  ?  It 
is  done  completely  and  not  partly.  The 
angels  In  heaven  do  not  begin  to  do  God's 
will  and  then  before  it  is  done  run  away  to 
play,  as  you  sometimes  do.  They  complete 
what  God  tells  them  to  do,  as  you  should. 
They  finish  it  all  up  before  they  leave  it. 
And  as  his  will  Is  done  in  heaven  so  it  should 
be  done  on  earth. 

It  Is  done  promptly.  The  angels  do  not 
wait,  after  God  speaks,  a  long  while  before 
they  start,  as  I  have  seen  children  do  ;  but 
they  go  right  off  and  do  It.  They  start  at 
once.  So  It  should  be  on  earth.  When  God 
speaks,  we  should  obey  promptly,  not  wait  a 
moment.     It  Is  done  cheerfully.     The  angels 


138  SERMONS  FOR    CHILDREN, 

are  glad  to  obey  God,  glad  to  go  on  the  winds 
to  do  the  will  of  God.  They  do  not  sulk  in 
the  corner  or  cry  because  they  are  called  upon 
to  do  something.  And  so  we  should  obey 
God  cheerfully,  as  they  do. 

God's  will  is  done  in  heaven  cheerfully, 
promptly,  and  completely,  or  fully,  and  so 
should  it  be  done  by  us  on  earth. 

4.  By  whom  should  God's  will  be  done  ? 
By  all  —  every  child  ought  to  do  it,  and  every 
man  and  woman  ought  to  do  his  will.  No 
one  is  excused.  You  are  not  excused  be- 
cause sometimes  it  may  be  hard.  But  even 
at  such  times  you  should  pray,  as  Christ  did  : 
**  Not  as  I  will,  but  as  thou  wilt." 

5.  If  all  would  do  the  will  of  God  on 
earth  as  it  is  done  in  heaven,  what  would 
be  the  effect  ?  Why,  all  sin  and  sorrow 
would  cease.  Heaven  would  come  down 
to  earth.  We  should  need  no  locks  or 
bolts  on  our  doors,  no  jails  and  prisons. 
There  would  be  no  lying,  or  cheating,  or 
swearing,  or  drinking,  or  Sabbath-breaking, 
or  any  such  thing.  This  would  be  a 
blessed  world  to  live  in.  Pray,  then,  this 
prayer  daily :  '*  Thy  will  be  done,  as  in 
heaven,   so    on    earth." 


XXIX. 

FOURTH   PETITION   OF  THE 
LORD'S    PRAYER. 

Give  us  this  day  our  daily  bread.  —  Matt.  6:   ii. 

Please  notice  the  change  in  the  peti- 
tions of  the  Lord's  Prayer.  The  first  three 
have  to  do  with  God,  his  name,  kingdom, 
and  will.  "  Hallowed  be  thy  name,  thy 
kingdom  come,  thy  will  be  done."  God  is 
more  than  we  are,  and  so  we  pray  for  things 
belonging  to  him  and  his  reign  first  of  all, 
before  we  pray  for  the  things  we  need. 

But  in  the  last  three  petitions  we  pray  for 
ourselves,  for  food,  for  forgiveness,  and  for 
deliverance  into  a  better  life.  The  text  is 
the  first  of  these  prayers.  We  begin  life 
with  food,  and  so  we  are  taught  to  say : 
''  Give  us  this  day  our  daily  bread." 

I.  Bread  here  means  food,  every  kind  of 
good  food.  You  know  how  hungry  you 
get  between  meals.  And  if  you  were  to  go 
without  eating  a  whole  day,  unless  you  were 
sick,  you  would  be  very  hungry.     So  if  you' 

139 


140  SERMONS  FOR    CHILDREN. 

could  get  no  water  for  a  day  or  two,  you 
would  become  very  thirsty.  Moses,  Elijah, 
and  Jesus  went  without  food  for  forty  days, 
and  men  in  our  own  day  have  done  the  same, 
but  they  were  obliged  to  have  water  to  drink. 
They  could  not  live  forty  days  without  food 
and  drink.  To  be  in  good  health  and  happy, 
we  must  have  food  every  day  and  water  every 
day  of  our  lives. 

2.  But  bread  here  means  more  than  food. 
It  includes  whatever  is  needful  for  our 
bodies.  We  need  clothes  to  wear,  shelter 
from  the  cold,  medicine  when  sick,  many 
things  for  the  comfort  of  our  bodies.  We 
need  to  take  the  greatest  care  of  our  health, 
tb^t  we  be  not  sick.  And  all  these  we  pray 
for  when  we  pray  for  our  daily  bread. 

When  Jesus  was  very  hungry  after  going 
without  food  for  forty  days,  he  was  tempted 
by  Satan  to  turn  the  stones  into  bread,  that 
he  might  eat  them.  But  he  would  not,  for 
he  said:  "It  is  written,  Man  shall  not  live 
by  bread  alone,  but  by  every  word  that  pro- 
ceedeth  "  (or  cometh)  "out  of  the  mouth  of 
God."  He  meant  that  we  have  a  soul 
as  well  as  a  body,  and  we  need  to  feed  the 
soul  as  much  as  we  need  to  feed  the  body. 


FO  UR  TH  PE  TIT  I  ON. 


141 


We  want  food  and  clothes  and  homes  for  the 
body;  but  we  need  work  and  schools  and 
churches  and  the  Bible  for  the  soul.  We 
need  to  feed  our  souls  with  the  bread  of  life, 
the  truth  and  worship  of  God. 

You  see  that  the  word  bread  means  a  great 
deal.     It  means  food  and  water  and  clothine 

o 

and  houses  for  the  body,  and  schools  and 
churches  and  books  and  worship  and  the 
Word  of  God  for  the  soul. 

3.  We  are  to  pray  for  these  every  day; 
for  we  say :  "  Give  us  this  day  our  daily 
bread."  We  can  not  pray  on  Sunday  and 
make  that  do  for  all  the  week ;  for  the 
prayer  is  not.  Give  us  this  week,  but  "  Give 
us  this  day  our  daily  bread,"  as  if  we  prayed 
it  every  morning.  We  are  not  to  worry 
about  to-morrow,  as  if  we  were  afraid  that 
we  should  not  have  enough  to  eat.  God 
will  provide,  if  we  pray  to  him  and  work  as 
we  should.  Hence  Jesus  said  in  the  same 
sermon  :  ''  Be  not  anxious  for  your  life,  what 
ye  shall  eat,  or  what  ye  shall  drink ;  nor  yet 
for  your  body,  what  ye  shall  put  on."  Yet 
we  should  pray  daily  for  the  things  needed  for 
our  bodies.  For  God  gives  th^  seasons,  the 
rain,  and  the  sunshine  and  the  harvests.     He 


142 


SERMONS  FOR    CHILDREN. 


makes  the  trees  to  bud  and  bear  fruit,  the 
grain  to  sprout  and  grow  and  ripen.  He 
causes  the  cotton  and  the  wool  and  the  silk  to 
grow,  in  which  to  clothe  us.  It  is  God  who 
has  given  us  the  truth  we  learn  in  the  school, 
at  church,  and  in  books.  It  is  God  who  gave 
us  the  Bible  as  bread  for  our  souls.  The 
Bible  is  the  Word  of  God,  by  which  we  ought 
to  live.  True,  we  need  to  work  for  these 
things,  to  till  the  ground,  and  weave  the  cot- 
ton and  wool ;  but  if  God  did  not  bless  our 
labors,  we  should  soon  starve  to  death. 
While  we  pray  for  our  daily  bread,  we  must 
go  to  work  and  earn  it. 

Our  text  teaches  us  to  pray  daily.  We 
need  food  and  clothing  and  shelter  every 
day,  so  we  are  taught  to  pray,  ''  Give  us  this 
day,"  that  is,  to-day,  each  day,  every  day, 
''  our  daily  bread ;  "  we  are  to  pray  it  every 
morning  of  our  lives. 

4.  It  teaches  us  also  daily  family  worship. 
We  do  not  say :  Give  me  my  daily  bread, 
but  "  Give  us  our  daily  bread;"  this  includes 
the  family,  all  who  are  daily  together  at  the 
time  of  prayer,  the  whole  family.  How 
beautiful  for  all  to  kneel  in  the  morning 
prayers,  and  for  the  children  and  all  to  say 


FO  UR  TH  PE  TITION. 


H3 


together :  *'  Give  us  this  day  our  daily  bread"  ! 
We  learn  from  the  text :  — 

(i)  That  we  should  pray  God  to  give  us 
the  things  that  we  need  to  feed  our  bodies 
and  souls. 

(2)  That  the  word  bread  includes  not 
only  food  but  also  clothing  and  shelter,  and 
the  word  of  God,  for  we  do  not  live  by  bread 
alone. 

(3)  That  we  are  to  pray  for  these  things 
every  day,  and  work  that  we  may  have  them. 

(4)  And  that  we  should  pray  for  them 
together  at  family  worship. 

Having  prayed  for  these  things  and 
worked  for  them,  we  should  trust  the  Lord 
to  give  them,  and  not  worry  about  them. 


XXX. 

FIFTH     PETITION     OF    THE 
LORD'S     PRAYER. 

And  forgive  us  our  debts,  as  we  also  have  forgiven  our  debtors.  — 
Matt.  6 :  12. 

You  see  that  the  Revised  Version  makes 
a  Httle  change  in  this  petition.  Instead  of 
saying  *'  As  we  forgive  our  debtors,"  our 
text  says:  "As  we  also  have  forgiven  our 
debtors."  We  will  show  how  this  change 
affects  the  meaning,  after  we  have  explained 
the  other  words. 

I.  The  words  'Mebts"  and  "debtors"  do 
not  refer  to  matters  of  money  which  one 
may  owe  to  another  ;  for  Jesus  in  explaining 
the  text  calls  the  debts  "  trespasses."  And 
when  he  afterwards  repeats  the  prayer  in 
part  (Luke  ii  :  4),  he  calls  the  debts  "  sins." 
Debt  then  means  any  sin,  fault,  trespass, 
wrong,  transgression,  said  or  done  against 
another.  If  a  child  strike  another  or  call  him 
names,  he  sins  against  him  and  against  God, 
and   his  sin    is   called  debt  in  the  text,  and 

144 


FIFTH  PETITION. 


145 


the  one  who  does  the  sin  or  injury  is  called 
debtor.  Every  wrong  thing  we  do  is  thus 
included  in  the  word  debt  in  our  text. 

2.  To  forgive,  is  to  give  up  resentment 
or  ill  will,  or  claim  to  redress  or  requital, 
on  account  of  any  wrong  done.  It  is  to 
pardon,  remit,  to  treat  one  who  does  the 
wrong  as  if  he  had  done  no  wrong  at  all. 
That  is,  if  one  do  you  an  injury  or  wrong, 
you  forgive  him  when  you  give  up  all  resent- 
ment towards  him  on  account  of  it,  and  when 
you  treat  him  as  though  he  had  not  done  you 
the  wrong. 

3.  We  ask  God  in  the  text  to  forgive 
our  sins,  debts  or  trespasses,  and  in  doing  so 
we  confess  that  we  are  sinners.  No  one  old 
enough  to  say  the  prayer  can  omit  this  peti- 
tion ;  for  all  the  children  have  done  wrong 
and  need  therefore  to  pray  it.  It  does  not 
matter  who  you  are  or  how  young  or  old  you 
are,  you  are  a  sinner,  and  need  to  pray  for 
forgiveness,  and  every  time  you  do  pray 
for  forgiveness  you  confess  that  you  are 
sinners. 

But  this  is  not  all.  You  ask  to  be  for- 
given. This  we  need  to  do  ;  for  you  may 
need   a   thing   very   much ;  but   if   you    are 


146  SERMONS  FOR    CHILDREN. 

not  willing  to  ask  for  it,  it  will  not  be  given 
to  you.  Have  you  not  sometimes  wanted  a 
thing,  but  were  afraid  or  ashamed  to  ask  for 
it,  and  so  did  not  get  it?  Have  you  not 
wanted  to  ask  your  parents  to  forgive  you, 
but  have  not  done  so,  because  you  were 
ashamed  to  go  to  them  and  say,  *'  I  have 
done  wrong,  and  please  forgive  me "  ?  If 
you  had  only  asked  to  be  forgiven,  how 
gladly  you  would  have  been  forgiven.  Do 
not  be  afraid  to  ask  forgiveness  of  any  one 
whom  you  have  injured  or  sinned  against. 
We  can  not  say  the  Lord's  Prayer  without 
asking  our  heavenly  Father  to  forgive  us  our 
sins. 

4.  But  how  shall  you  ask  him  to  forgive 
you  ?  With  what  kind  of  a  spirit  shall  you 
come  to  him  ?  We  are  told  in  our  text, 
we  must  come  with  the  spirit  of  forgiveness 
in  our  hearts;  for  it  is  said:  "As  we  also 
have  forgiven  our  debtors."  Mind  it  does 
not  read :  "  For  we  are  going  by-and-by  to 
forgive  those  who  have  sinned  against  us," 
nor  does  It  say,  "As  we  are  now  forgiv- 
ing those  who  sin  against  us ;  "  but  what 
does  it  say,  "  As  we  also  have  forgiven 
our  debtors "  ?  that    is,  as  we    have    already 


FIFTH  PETITION. 


H7 


forgiven  them,  as  we  forgave  them  and 
continue  to  forgive  them ;  so  forgive  us 
our  debts  or  sins.  In  this  sweet  spirit  of 
forgiveness,  we  are  to  come  to  God  and 
ask  forgiveness. 

5.  This  is  the  only  petition  in  the  prayer 
that  Jesus  explained.  Hence  he  regarded 
it  as  something  needing  to  be  well  under- 
stood, and  that  it  might  be  understood, 
he  explained  it  thus:  "For  if  ye  forgive 
men  their  trespasses,  your  heavenly  Father 
will  also  forgive  you.  But  if  ye  forgive 
not  men  their  trespasses,  neither  will  your 
Father  forgive  your  trespasses."  If  you 
are  hard  and  bitter  and  unforgiving 
towards  your  brothers  or  sisters  or  play- 
mates or  any  one,  even  if  they  have  done 
you  a  great  wrong,  how  can  you  expect 
your  heavenly  Father  to  forgive  you  when 
in  such  a  frame  of  mind,  or  when  your  own 
heart  is  not  willing  to  forgive  ? 

When  we  ask  God  to  forgive  our  debts 
we  must  have  already  forgiven  those  who 
have  done  us  wrong,  else  we  are  not  fit  to 
be  forgiven.  Jesus  shows  this  in  the  par- 
able of  the  two  debtors,  which  we  ask  you 
to  read  in  full.  You  will  find  it  in  Matthew 
18:    21-35.      ^t   is   in  brief  this:     A  king 


148  SFRAIONS  FOR    CHILDREN. 

had  a  servant  who  owed  him  ten  thousand 
talents,  or  about  $12,000,000,  a  very  great 
debt  indeed.  But  when  the  servant  asked 
the  king  to  forgive  him  all  that  debt,  because 
he  had  nothing  to  pay  with,  the  king  forgave 
it  all.  But  that  servant  went  out  and 
found  a  fellow-servant  that  owed  him  one 
hundred  pence,  or  $15,  a  very  small  debt 
when  compared  with  the  other.  But  he 
laid  hold  on  him,  and  took  him  by  the 
throat  and  said :  "  Pay  what  thou  owest." 
And  when  his  fellow-servant  fell  down  and 
begged,  saying,  ''  Have  patience  with  me, 
and  I  will  pay  thee  all,"  he  would  not  have 
mercy  on  him,  but  cast  him  into  prison,  until 
the  debt  should  be  paid.  What  did  the  king 
do  when  he  heard  of  it  ?  He  took  back 
his  forgiveness,  for  the  man  was  not  worthy 
of  it,  and  he  delivered  him  to  the  tormentors, 
till  he  should  pay  all  that  was  due.  And 
Jesus  said :  ''So  shall  also  my  heavenly 
Father  do  unto  you,  if  ye  forgive  not  every 
one  his  brother  from  your  hearts." 

We  must  forgive,  if  we  hope  to  be  forgiven. 
We  must  have  the  spirit  of  forgiveness  in  our 
hearts,  before  we  can  ask  aright  to  be  for- 
given. Remember  this  when  you  pray  this 
petition  of  the  Lord's  Prayer. 


XXXI. 

THE     SIXTH     PETITION     OF 
THE     LORD'S     PRAYER. 

And  bring  us  not  into  temptation,  but  delirer  us  from  the  evil 
one.  —  Matt.  6 :  13. 

This  is  the  last  petition  of  the  Lord's 
Prayer,  In  it  we  ask  to  be  kept  from 
temptation  and  deUvered  from  the  evil  one. 
If  we  had  not  been  tempted,  we  should  not 
have  sinned.  So  when  we  pray  to  be  for- 
given for  our  sins,  we  need  to  go  one  step 
farther  and  pray  that  we  may  be  kept  from 
sinning.     And  this  we  do  in  our  text. 

I.  What  is  meant  by  temptation?  One 
kind  of  temptation  is  enticement  into  sin,  as 
when  Satan  tempted  Adam  and  Eve,  as 
when  you  are  tempted  to  run  away  from 
school  or  do  what  has  been  forbidden  you. 
But  our  Father  in  heaven  never  tempts  one 
to  sin  in  the  sense  of  enticing  him. 

But  God  does  bring  men  into  trials  of 
faith  and  love.  He  puts  round  about  us 
things    that    are     good     in    themselves,    but 


149 


150  SERMONS  FOR    CHILDREN. 

which  become  temptations  to  us.  Because 
food  tastes  good,  we  are  tempted  to  eat  more 
than  is  good  for  us.  Because  play  is  pleas- 
ant, we  are  tempted  to  play  too  much,  to  run 
away  from  school  to  play.  There  are  a  great 
many  good  things  that  become  temptations  in 
this  way. 

Then  God  permits  sickness  and  pain  and 
loss  of  friends  and  poverty  to  come  upon  us. 
We  have  many  things  to  try  us.  And  we 
are  tempted  to  fret  and  scold  and  find  fault. 
We  give  way  to  wrong  feelings,  and  so  sin. 
They  are  great  trials  to  us.  All  the  good 
have  them.  Even  Jesus  had  temptations  and 
trials.  There  are  then  trials  and  temptations 
where  there  is  no  sin.  But  this  leads  me 
to  ask  : 

2.  What  then  does  the  prayer  mean  : 
'*And  bring  us  not  into  temptation"?  It 
means  that  we  are  to  ask  God  to  keep  us 
as  far  as  he  wisely  can  from  these  trials 
and  troubles,  and  to  keep  us  from  sin  when 
we  are  tempted.  These  trials  are  good  for 
us,  if  we  bear  them  as  we  ought.  It  is  good 
for  a  child  to  learn  to  walk  and  run,  though 
he  fall  down  and  hurt  himself  often  in  learn- 
ing.   It  is  good  for  a  scholar  to  get  his  lessons 


SIXTH  PETITION. 


151 


alone,  and  do  his  sums  alone,  though  he  make 
mistakes.  It  is  good  for  a  child  to  go  out  to 
play  with  other  children,  though  he  get  hurt 
once  in  a  while.  So  it  is  good  to  have  our 
patience  tried,  that  we  may  learn  to  be  patient. 
And  so  of  all  trials.  But  we  need  to  pray  that 
we  may  not  be  brought  into  a  trial  or  tempta- 
tion where  we  should  lose  our  temper  and  do 
wrong.  Christ  said  :  "  Watch  and  pray,  that 
ye  enter  not  into  temptation."  But  God  is 
faithful  and  will  not  suffer  us  to  be  tempted 
above  what  we  are  able  to  bear,  if  only  we 
look  to  him  for  help.  And  he  knows  how 
to  deliver  the  godly  out  of  temptation. 

When,  therefore,  you  are  tried  and  tempted, 
either  by  great  troubles,  or  by  those  who 
would  entice  you  into  sin,  remember  to  pray, 
*'  Bring  us  not  into  temptation,"  and  then  re- 
sist all  fretting  and  scolding  and  repining,  and 
all  sin.  Do  as  Christ  did  when  tempted, 
overcome  the  temptation. 

3.  But  there  is  another  part  to  the  text, 
"  But  deliver  us  from  the  evil  one,"  or  "  from 
evil,"  as  it  is  in  the  Common  Version. 
There  are  a  great  many  evils  in  the  world, 
from  which  we  may  well  pray  to  be  delivered, 
such  as  pain,    sickness,  trouble,    evil  habits, 


152  SERMONS  FOR    CHILDREN. 

bad  playmates,  dangers,  and  the  like  ;  but  the 
greatest  of  all  the  evils  is  the  evil  one,  called 
Satan.  Satan  tempted  Adam  and  Eve  and 
they  fell.  He  tempted  Jesus  Christ,  but  our 
Saviour  resisted  and  overcame  him,  and  he 
prayed  for  all  his  children  that  they  might  be 
kept  from  the  evil  one,  Satan  ;  and  he  taught 
them  to  pray  to  be  delivered  from  the  evil 
one.  He  is  described  ''  as  a  roaring  lion, 
walking  about,  seeking  whom  he  may  de- 
vour." No  wonder  then  that  we  are  told  to 
pray  to  be  delivered  from  him,  and  exhorted 
to  withstand  him  steadfast  in  our  faith.  If 
we  can  be  delivered  from  the  evil  one  we 
shall  be  saved  in  heaven.  As  Satan  tempts 
into  sin,  all  the  time,  we  need  to  pray  every 
day  to  be  delivered  from  him.  We  should 
be  very  careful  to  incline  our  hearts  and 
thoughts  away  from  all  sinful  things.  We 
should  not  go  into  temptation.  We  should 
not  go  into  saloons  or  gambling  places 
or  any  place  that  may  bring  us  into 
temptation. 

We  are  taught  in  this  petition,  that  God 
alone  can  deliver  us  from  sin.  If  he  shall 
deliver  us  from  the  evil  one,  temptation  will 
not  prevail  against  us.     "  This  last  petition  is 


SIXTH  PETITION.  I  53 

the  highest  step  on  the  ladder  of  prayer, 
which  reaches  from  earth  to  heaven."  This 
dehverance  from  Satan  is  the  last  request  we 
make  in  the  Lord's  Prayer.  When  we  shall 
be  free  from  temptation  and  delivered  from 
the  wiles  of  the  evil  one,  we  shall  be  in 
heaven.  Till  then  let  us  all  pray  this  short- 
est and  best  of  prayers. 


XXXII. 

THE     DOXOLOGY     OF    THE 
LORD'S     PRAYER. 

[For  thine  is  the  kingdom,  and  the  power,  and  the  glory,  for  ever. 
Amen,]  —  Matt.  6  :  13. 

These  words  were  left  out  of  the  Revised 
Version  and  put  into  the  margin  or  side 
of  the  page,  with  this  comment  on  them: 
"  Many  authorities,  some  ancient,  but  with 
variations,  add  For  thine  is  the  kingdom, 
and  the  power,  and  the  glory,  for  ever. 
Amen."     So  we  put  the  text  in  brackets. 

1 .  Why  were  these  words  left  out  of  the 
Revised  Version  ?  They  were  left  out  be- 
cause Christ,  when  he  gave  the  prayer,  did 
not  use  them.  He  stopped  with  the  words  : 
**  but  deliver  us  from  the  evil  one,"  and 
we  do  not  want  to  have  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment any  words  as  his  which  are  not  his. 
We  want  to  find  there  all  that  he  said,  which 
was  written  in  the  Gospels,  just  as  he  said 
it,  and  no  more.  That  is  why  our  text  was 
left  out  of  the  Lord's  Prayer. 

154 


DOXOLOGY  OF   THE  LORD'S  PRAYER.       155 

2.  How  did  the  text  oret  into  the  Common 
Version  ?  This  is  the  way  :  '*  The  Lord's 
Prayer  was  early  used  in  private  and  pubHc 
worship  with  a  doxology  ;  and  this  was  in- 
serted first  on  the  margin,  then  in  the  text." 
If  you  should  write  a  letter,  and  leave  a 
margin  on  all  sides  of  the  page  as  in  printed 
books,  and  if  you  should  afterwards  write 
something  in  the  margin,  or  some  one  else 
should  write  in  the  margin,  and  then  your 
letter  should  be  sent  away  to  friends,  and 
they  should  think  so  much  of  it  as  to  copy 
it  with  the  pen,  as  all  copies  were  made  before 
printing  was  invented,  what  do  you  think 
the  one  copying  it  would  do  with  the  writing 
in  the  margin  of  your  letter  ?  Why,  he 
would  put  it  into  your  letter  as  a  part  of  it, 
and  would  not  write  it  on  the  margin  of 
his  copy.  Christ  gave  no  conclusion  or 
doxology  to  his  prayer,  but  when  the  prayer 
came  to  be  used  in  worship,  a  doxology  was 
written  on  the  margin,  and  when  a  copy 
was  made,  was  put  in  as  a  part  of  the  prayer. 
That  is  the  way,  probably,  the  doxology  got 
into  the  Lord's  Prayer. 

3.  Ought  we,  then,  to  use  the  doxology 
in    saying   the    Lord's    Prayer  ?     Yes,    there 


156  SERMONS  FOR    CHILDREN. 

is  no  harm  in  using  it,  and  it  is  a  fit  ending 
of  the  Prayer.  We  are  not  shut  up  to  the 
words  of  Christ  in  prayer.  We  may,  and 
should,  use  other  words.  When,  about  two 
years  after  giving  this  prayer,  Christ  repeated 
it,  he  did  not  use  exactly  the  same  words, 
but  said  :  ''  Father,  hallowed  be  thy  name. 
Thy  kingdom  come.  Give  us  day  by  day  our 
daily  bread.  And  forgive  us  our  sins  :  for 
we  ourselves  also  forgive  every  one  that  is 
indebted  to  us.  And  bring  us  not  into 
temptation."  (Luke  1 1  :  2-4.)  He  taught 
us  by  these  changes  that  we  need  not  use 
exactly  the  same  words  all  the  time,  or  use 
his  words  all  the  time  in  prayer.  We  may, 
then,  use  the  doxology  in  repeating  the 
Lord's  Prayer,  if  we  desire  to  do  so. 

4.  What  is  a  doxology?  It  is  something 
said  or  sung,  like  our  text,  or  like  that  verse 
beginning,  ''  Praise  God,  from  whom  all 
blessings  flow,"  in  honor  and  praise  of  God. 
It  is  a  short  form  of  praise  to  God.  Let  me 
give  you  some  examples,  that  you  may  see 
what  a  doxology  is:  ''Glory  to  God  in  the 
highest,  and  on  earth  peace  among  men 
in  whom  he  is  well  pleased."  "  For  of  him, 
and    through    him,   and    unto    him,  are    all 


DOXOLOGY   OF    THE  LORD'S  PRAYER. 


157 


things.  To  him  be  the  glory  for  ever. 
Amen."  ''To  the  only  wise  God,  through 
Jesus  Christ,  to  whom  be  the  glory  for  ever. 
Amen."  In  these  and  such  like  words, 
praise  and  honor  are  given  unto  God.  Here 
is  another  doxology  :  ''  Blessing,  and  glory, 
and  wisdom,  and  thanksgiving,  and  honor, 
and  power,  and  might,  be  unto  our  God 
for  ever  and  ever." 

5.  What  does  the  doxology  in  the  Lord's 
Prayer  mean  ?  It  declares  that  the  kingdom, 
and  the  power,  and  the  glory  are  God's.  The 
kingdom  is  the  kingdom  of  God,  that  we 
pray  may  come.  The  power  is  the  power  of 
setting  up  this  kingdom,  of  ruling  it,  of 
delivering  God's  people  from  the  evil  one, 
of  giving  great  rewards  in  heaven.  And  all 
the  glory  and  honor  of  doing  this  belongs  to 
God.  Now  it  is  very  easy  for  us  to  think 
that  much  of  the  power  and  the  glory  be- 
longs to  us.  If  we  go  to  work  in  the  church 
and  men  are  saved,  we  begin  to  think  that  we 
did  it,  and  claim  the  honor  that  belongs  to 
God.  The  Bible  tells  us  of  a  proud  king  of 
Babylon  who  rebuilt  and  enlarged  the  city, 
and  boasted  what  a  great  city  he  had  built 
by  the  might  of  his  power.     Perhaps  you  can 


158  SERMONS  FOR    CHILDREN. 

tell  who  that  king  was.  He  thought  that 
he  had  done  every  thing  himself,  and  gave 
no  honor  and  glory  unto  God.  While  he 
was  saying  these  proud  things,  a  voice  came 
from  heaven  saying,  "  O  king,  to  thee  it 
is  spoken  :  The  kingdom  is  departed  from 
thee."  So  it  is,  God  will  not  give  his  honor 
unto  another. 

Some  boys  are  always  telling  what  great 
things  they  have  done  or  can  do.  But  that 
Is  not  right ;  for,  if  they  are  strong,  God  has 
given  them  their  strength  ;  if  they  are  good, 
it  is  because  God  has  helped  them  to  be 
good.  They  ought  then  to  praise  God  for 
what  they  are  and  what  they  do  and  give 
him  all  the  glory,  as  we  do  In  the  doxology 
of  the  Lord's  Prayer. 

But  the  last  word  Is  Amen,  —  and  what 
do  we  mean  by  saying  Amen  ?  It  is  Itself 
a  little  prayer,  all  in  one  word.  It  means: 
"  So  be  It;  "  that  Is,  Let  the  kingdom  and 
the  power,  and  the  glory,  be  our  heavenly 
Father's  for  ever.  We  yield  them  all  up  to 
him  and  claim  none  of  them  for  ourselves, 
that  God  may  be  all  In  all. 

We  have  now  explained  to  you  the  Lord's 
Prayer,  and  we  close  by  saying  to  you  all,  — 


D  0X0  LOGY   OF   THE  LORD'S  PRAYER.       I  59 

1.  Learn  this  prayer  by  heart,  and  you 
will  always  have  the  best  of  all  prayers  to 
pray  at  all  times. 

2.  Pray  the  prayer  reverently,  as  if  you 
had  never  prayed  it  before. 

3.  Add  to  it  any  other  petition  that  you 
may  desire  to  make,  for  any  thing  you  may 
really  want. 


XXXIII. 
BOTTLING    UP    TEARS. 

Put  thou  my  tears  into  thy  bottle.  —  Ps.  56:  8. 

This  is  a  prayer  by  king  David  that  God 
would  preserve  his  tears  in  memory,  as 
precious  perfumes  were  preserved  in  little 
bottles,  so  that  he  would  not  forget  them. 
The  text  means  this,  for  David  adds  :  ''  Are 
they  not  in  thy  book  ?  "  or  record. 

If  your  father  were  to  catch  all  the  tears 
you  shed  and  put  them  in  a  glasr.  bottle,  and 
keep  the  number  of  the  times  you  cry,  and 
record  it  in  a  book,  every  day  and  week  and 
month  ;  and  then  should  look  at  the  bottle 
and  in  the  book  to  see  your  tears  and  sor- 
rows, he  would  do  what  David  wanted  God 
his  heavenly  Father  to  do  with  his  tears  and 
cries. 

Perhaps  some  of  you  say  :  *'  It  would  take 
a  big  bottle  for  my  tears,  and  a  large  book 
to  write  my  cries  in  ;  for  I  cry  so  often." 
Or,  better,  *'  It  would  take  a  little,  tiny 
bottle  and  a  very  small  book  for  my  tears 

160 


BOTTLING    UP    TEARS.  i6l 

and  crylngs,  for  I  do  not  cry  at  every  hurt 
I  get  or  every  thing  that  does  not  suit  me." 
But,  whether  you  cry  Httle  or  much,  I  want 
to  say  a  few  words  to  you  about  this  bot- 
tling up  of  tears  spoken  of  in  the  text:  "Put 
thou  my  tears  into  thy  bottle." 

It  was  once  thought  —  and  not  long  ago  — 
that  the  little  bottles,  which  are  found  in 
the  graves  of  those  who  died  among  the 
ancients  before  or  about  the  time  of  Christ, 
were  the  tear  bottles  into  which  the  tears 
of  the  mourners  were  put,  and  then  the 
bottles  were  buried  with  the  dead,  to  show 
how  much  the  living  loved  the  dead  ;  but  it 
is  not  now  believed  that  these  bottles,  some 
of  glass  and  some  of  earthen  ware,  were  tear 
bottles.  ''  They  are  in  fact  vessels  intended 
to  contain  perfume,  like  the  alabaster  box 
of  the  Gospels."  In  explaining  the  text,  Mr. 
Barnes,  in  his  notes,  gives  pictures  of  ten 
such  bottles,  of  different  kinds  and  sizes. 
He  calls  them  tear  bottles,  as  men  then 
believed  they  had  contained  tears  ;  but 
they  probably  had  contained  only  perfume. 

And  yet  the  idea  of  bottling  up  the  tears 
of  those  we  love,  in  order  to  keep  their 
sorrows    in  remembrance,  is  very   beautiful ; 


1 62  SERMONS  FOR    CHILDREN. 

and  It  may  some  time  have  become  a  custom 
thus  to  preserve  tears.  It  has  been  said  that 
**  the  Romans  had  a  custom,  that  in  a  time 
of  mourning  —  on  a  funeral  occasion  —  a 
friend  went  to  one  in  sorrow,  and  wiped 
away  the  tears  from  the  eyes  with  a  piece 
of  cloth,  and  squeezed  the  tears  into  a  small 
bottle  of  glass,  or  earth,  which  was  care- 
fully preserved  as  a  memorial  of  friendship 
and  sorrow."  Whether  this  was  so  or  not, 
king  David  prayed  that  his  tears  might  be 
thus  preserved  and  kept  in  remembrance. 
For  the  heart  needs  and  loves  pity  or  sym- 
pathy in  times  of  trouble. 

It  may  be  that  some  of  the  boys  and  girls 
here  pray  in  their  hearts  that  their  fathers 
would  bottle  up  their  tears  so  as  to  keep 
them  in  remembrance.  For  I  remember  a 
little  boy  whose  father  had  so  little  sympathy 
or  pity  for  him  in  trouble  that,  one  day  when 
at  work  he  had  almost  crushed  a  finger,  he 
would  not  tell  his  father  of  it  for  fear  of  being 
scolded.  That  boy  wished  his  father  would 
bottle  up  his  child's  tears  and  comfort  him 
in  his  troubles.  And  no  doubt  other  boys 
feel  the  same,  and  find  little  or  no  pity  for 
themselves  in  their  fathers.     Their   mothers 


BOTTLING    UP   TEARS. 


163 


are  more  likely  to  have  compassion  for  their 
children. 

Hence,  children,  I  am  going  to  speak  in 
in  your  stead  this  morning,  and  utter  the 
prayer  of  David  for  each  one  of  you  :  "  Put 
thou  my  tears  into  thy  bottle."  But  as  God 
pities  us  men  and  women  more  than  your 
parents  pity  you,  and  as  he  must  pity 
you  more  than  he  does  us,  I  shall  ask 
your  fathers  to  hear  this  prayer  of  yours 
for  greater  pity  towards  you  in  your  sorrows. 
On  your  behalf  I  ask  them  to  put  your  tears 
into  their  bottle,  that  is,  that  they  have  more 
pity  for  you  in  your  troubles  and  hurts.  For 
each  one  of  you,  I  say  to  them  in  your 
name  :  — 

''Father,  won't  you  love  me  more  and 
pity  me  oftener,  and  not  speak  so  sharp  to 
me  when  I  don't  mean  to  do  any  thing 
wrong?  True,  my  little  troubles,  that  I 
would  like  to  tell  you  about,  may  seem 
needless  and  of  no  account  to  you,  but 
they  are  not  such  to  me.  And,  besides, 
do  not  your  troubles  over  which  you  pray 
seem  small  and  of  no  account  unto  God,  our 
Father  in  heaven  ?  But  as  he  hears  your 
prayers  and  kindly  answers  them,  and  even 


1 64  SERMONS  FOR   CHILDREN. 

hears  the  ravens  when  they  cry,  will  you 
not  hear  my  crying  and  pity  me  ?  And  as 
God  forgives  you  when  you  do  wrong,  and 
causes  his  goodness  to  lead  you  to  repent- 
ance, and  is  very  patient  with  you,  will  you 
not  try  to  be  more  patient  with  me,  and  for- 
give me,  and  be  so  good  to  me  that  I  shall 
love  you  as  well  as  fear  you  ?  I  am  very 
naughty  sometimes,  but  when  I  am  sorry  for 
it  and  want  to  tell  you  so,  and  ask  you  to 
forgive  me,  I  am  afraid  to  do  so,  or  you 
speak  again  so  sharply  to  me  that  I  do  not 
any  longer  want  to  confess.  You  may  make 
me  mind,  and  punish  me  when  I  am  ugly 
and  disobedient,  —  for,  if  you  do  not,  I  shall 
have  no  respect  for  you,  — but  won't  you, 
father,  pity  me  more,  and  so  make  me 
happier  ?  " 

Will  not  fathers  hear  this  prayer  of  their 
children  and  heed  it?  In  this  way  they  shall 
bottle  up  the  tears  of  their  little  ones  and 
have  them  in  remembrance.  You  will  thus 
make  their  young  lives  sweeter  and  brighter 
and  better. 


XXXIV. 

STUDYING  ANIMALS. 

But  ask  now  the  beasts,  and  they  shall  teach  thee ;  and  the  fowls  of 
the  air,  and  they  shall  tell  thee.  —  Job  12 :  7. 

I  KNOW,  children,  that  you  love  animals, 
the  birds,  the  cattle,  the  horse  and  do^  and 
cat,  and  that  you  want  to  see  the  strange 
animals  that  are  brought  to  us  in  shows. 
They  are  wonderful  in  size  and  form  and 
beauty.  You  line  the  streets  to  see  them. 
You  stare  at  all  the  animals,  the  lions,  the 
camels,  the  elephants,  when  they  are  ex- 
hibited. 

But  did  you  ever  learn  any  thing  from 
animals?  Our  text  says:  ''Ask  now  the 
beasts,  and  they  shall  teach  thee ;  and  the 
fowls  of  the  air,  and  they  shall  tell  thee." 
And  our  Saviour  tells  us  to  learn  of  them, 
for  he  said:  "Behold  the  birds  of  the 
heaven,  that  they  sow  not,  neither  do  they 
reap,  nor  gather  into  barns ;  and  your 
heavenly  Father  feedeth  them.  Are  not 
ye  of  much  more  value   than    they  ? " 

165 


1 66  SERMONS  FOR    CHILDREN. 

There  is,  then,  something  to  be  learned 
from  birds  and  beasts.  If  you  ask  a  bird 
this  question:  "What  are  you  good  for?" 
the  bird  might  sing  you  a  song,  but  it  would 
say  no  more.  You  would  have  to  watch  it, 
see  what  it  eats  and  does,  and  so  learn  what 
it  is  good  for.  So  of  all  animals.  And  this 
study  of  beasts  and  birds  is  just  what  Job 
meant  when  he  told  you  to  ask  them  and 
they  would  teach  and  tell  you. 

There  are  some  reasons  why  you  should 
study  animals  and  birds  and  learn  about 
them. 

I.  You  should  study  animals  because 
you  are  interested  in  them.  You  like  the 
horse,  the  dog,  the  cat,  the  canary,  the  squir- 
rel, the  colt,  and  other  animals.  They  are 
such  a  delight  to  you  that  you  want  to  pet 
them.  When  your  parents  buy  a  book  tell- 
ing about  animals,  their  homes  and  habits, 
you  should  study  it  until  you  can  tell  all 
about  them  ;  for  in  this  way  the  birds  and 
beasts  shall  teach  you.  There  are  such 
books,  and  they  are  good  books  for  you  to 
read  and  study.  They  tell  you  what  God 
has  made,  and  how  wonderfully  they  live. 
Learn  while  children  all   you  can  about  all 


STUDYING  ANIMALS.  1 6/ 

sorts  of  animals,  the  fishes,  the  beasts,  the 
birds. 

2.  You  ought  to  study  animals  because 
you  will  never  outgrow  your  interest  in  them. 
Many  of  the  things  you  learn  in  childhood 
you  will  forget  when  you  grow  older,  and 
will  w^ant  to  forget.  Many  of  the  songs  you 
sing  you  will  outgrow.  But  what  you  learn 
about  the  homes  and  ways  of  animals  you 
will  never  outgrow,  or  want  to  forget.  It 
will  be  of  interest  to  you  all  your  lives.  It 
will  give  you  interest  in  animals  all  through 
life,  and  pleasure  too.  I  wonder  who  of  you 
can  tell  what  little  animal  it  is  that  holds 
slaves,  or  what  one  it  is  that  milks  another 
smaller  animal  for  a  part  of  its  food,  or  what 
one  sets  a  watch  so  that  it  may  not  be  caught 
or  killed!  If  you  once  find  out  their  habits 
you  will  never  forget  them. 

3.  You  ought  to  study  animals  because 
they  explain  the  Bible.  The  Bible  says  a 
great  deal  about  animals.  Job  tells  us  about 
be-he-moth,  or  river-horse,  whose  ''  limbs  [or 
ribs]  are  like  bars  of  iron  "  (Job  40  :  15-24)  ; 
the  le-vi-a-than,  or  croc-o-dile,  and  asks : 
"  Canst  thou  put  a  rope  into  his  nose?  .  .  . 
Canst  thou  fill  his  skin  with  barbed  irons,  or 


1 68  SERMONS  FOR   CHILDREN, 

his  head  with  fish  spears  ?  "  (Job  41  :  1-34)  ; 
and  of  the  ostrich:  ''What  time  she  lifteth 
up  herself  on  high,  she  scorneth  the  horse 
and  his  rider  "  (Job  39  :  13-18).  He  describes 
her  habits  with  scientific  accuracy.  Read 
these  words:  "There  be  four  things  which 
are  Httle  upon  the  earth,  but  they  are  exceed- 
ing wise  : 

''The  ants  are  a  people  not  strong,  yet 
they  provide  their  meat  in  the  summer  ; 

"  The  conies  are  but  a  feeble  folk,  yet 
make  they  their  houses  in  the  rocks  ; 

"The  locusts  have  no  king,  yet  go  they 
forth  all  of  them  by  bands  ; 

"  The  lizard  taketh  hold  with  her  hands,  yet 
is  she  in  king's  palaces"  (Prov.  30:  24-28). 

The  Bible  speaks  of  a  great  many  other 
animals,  and  if  we  knew  their  size,  form,  and 
habits,  we  should  understand  the  Bible  better 
than  we  do. 

4.  We  should  study  animals  because 
they  teach  us  of  God.  How  many  kinds 
there  are  ;  how  different  in  size,  form,  color, 
habits !  Yet  they  tell  us  of  God's  wisdom 
and  goodness.  Each  kind  has  food  suited 
to  it,  has  its  own  way  of  defence,  and  is  fitted 
to  the  place  where  it  lives.      They  did  not 


STUDYING  ANIMALS.  169 

come  of  themselves.  God  created  them. 
God  feeds  them.  God  gave  them  their 
beautiful  fur  or  feathers.  They  teach  us  of 
God.  "Who  knoweth  not  in  all  these,  that 
the  hand  of  the  Lord  hath  wrought  this? 
In  whose  hand  is  the  soul  of  every  living 
thing,  and  the  breath  of  all  mankind." 

What  can  be  more  interesting  and  profit- 
able than  the  study  of  animals  ?  Study  those 
near  you,  your  pets ;  study  the  birds  and 
beasts  and  the  fishes,  in  the  woods  and 
waters ;  study  the  animals  of  other  lands  in 
books  ;  study  the  spiders  and  ants  and  the 
biting  little  flies ;  for  they  all  tell  of  God ; 
they  are  his  wonderful  works.  You  can 
spend  your  winter  evenings  in  such  studies 
from  books,  and  then  when  the  spring  comes, 
you  can  study  the  beasts  of  the  field,  the 
birds  of  the  air,  the  fish  in  the  water,  and 
every  creeping  thing  upon  the  earth;  and 
they  shall  teach  you  of  the  wonderful  wisdom 
and  care  of  God.  "Are  not  ye  of  much 
more  value  than  they?" 


XXXV. 
A   MOCKER  AND   A   BRAWLER. 

Wine  is  a  mocker,  strong  drink  a  brawler;   and  whosoever  erreth 
thereby  is  not  wise.  —  Prov.  20  :  i. 

If  you  will  look  In  the  margin  of  the 
Revised  Version,  you  will  find  that  "  erreth" 
Is  there  rendered  "  reeleth."  Those  who 
use  wine  and  strong  drink  not  only  err  but 
they  also  reel  when  they  take  too  much. 

While  riding  recently,  I  saw  a  man  lying 
by  the  sidewalk  dead  drunk.  He  did  not 
stir.  He  had  taken  that  brawler,  strong 
drink,  and  had  reeled  along  until  he  fell, 
too  drunk  to  walk  or  speak.  There  he  lay, 
where  all  who  passed  along  could  see  him. 
It  was  a  sad  sight.  He  was  going  to  have 
a  good  time,  but  he  had  been  mocked.  To 
lie  in  the  sun  drunk,  where  men,  women,  and 
children  could  see  him,  was  not  only  sad 
and  foolish,  it  was  also  a  sin  against  God. 
Hence  I  am  going  to  preach  you  another 
temperance  sermon,  children  ;  for  I  do  not 
want  any  one  of  you  to  be  as  foolish  and 
wicked  as  that  man  was. 

170 


A   MOCKER  AND  A   BRAWLER.  17I 

Wine  and  strong  drink  in  the  text  stand 
for  all  sorts  of  drink  that  make  men  drunk ; 
so  when  I  say  wine  or  strong  drink,  you  will 
remember  that  I  mean  all  kinds  of  drink 
that  make  men  drunk,  including  beer  and 
hard  cider. 

I  do  not  think  you  now  use  wine  or  strong 
drink,  children  ;  but  seeing  others  use  them, 
I  fear  you  may  begin  to  use  them,  and  come 
to  be  like  that  man  I  saw  drunk.  I  preach 
to  you  before  you  begin  to  drink,  so  that 
you  will  never  begin.  We  all  want  you  to 
let  such  stuff  alone.  It  will  do  you  no  good, 
but  much  harm.     Let  it  alone  forever. 

Wine  is  a  mocker.  It  says  that  it  will 
make  you  happy;  but  it  makes  men  reel 
along  the  streets ;  it  makes  them  ragged ;  it 
makes  them  drunk  and  poor  and  wretched ; 
and  it  makes  their  friends,  their  wives  and 
children,  sad  and  hungry  and  miserable.  It 
mocks  them  all  Do  not  use  such  a  mocker ; 
then  you  will  be  wise  and  not  foolish.  Then 
you  will  never  be  drunk,  or  reel  along  the 
street,  or  lie  down  in  the  gutter. 

Strong  drink  is  a  brawler.  It  includes 
whiskey,  rum,  gin,  brandy,  and  the  like. 
They  make  men  noisy.     When  we  hear  men 


172  SERMONS  FOR    CHILDREN. 

shouting  and  hooting  along  the  streets,  we 
know  what  the  matter  is  —  they  have  been 
drinking.  They  are  brawlers  ;  and  soon  they 
reel  or  stagger,  and  fall  down  drunk.  You 
laugh  at  them,  but  it  is  too  sad  for  laughter. 
You  should  pity  them  and  try  to  save  them. 
You  should  be  afraid  of  becoming  like  them. 
If  you  were  to  ask  them,  they  might  say : 
**  We  have  gone  so  far  that  we  can  not  help 
it.  Once  we  might  have  stopped,  but  we 
can  not  now  stop.  There  is  no  help  for  us. 
O  boys,  don't  begin  to  drink !  don't  begin 
to  drink!  "  Is  it  not  dreadful  for  men  to  get 
into  such  a  state  that  they  can  not  stop  drink- 
ing when  they  want  to  ?  Yet  such  is  some- 
times the  case  with  drinkers.  I  pray  God  to 
keep  each  one  of  you  from  so  sad  a  slavery 
to  drink  or  to  any  other  wicked  habit. 

But  you  think  that  it  is  not  so  bad  to  drink 
wine  and  strong  drink.  Well  then,  let  us 
hear  what  God  says  about  it  in  the  Bible. 

''Who  hath  woe  ?  who  hath  sorrow?  who 
hath  contentions  ?  who  hath  complaining  ? 
who  hath  wounds  without  cause  ?  who  hath 
redness  of  eyes  ?  They  that  tarry  long  at 
the  wine  ;  they  that  go  to  seek  out  mixed 
wine.     Look  not  thou  upon  the  wine  when 


A   MOCKER  AND  A  BRAWLER.  173 

it  is  red,  when  it  giveth  its  color  in  the 
cup,  when  it  goeth  down  smoothly:  at  the 
last  it  biteth  like  a  serpent,  and  stingeth 
like  an  adder  [or  basilisk]."  (Prov.  23  : 
29-32.) 

''  Be  not  among  winebibbers  ;  among  glut- 
tonous eaters  of  flesh :  for  the  drunkard  and 
the  glutton  shall  come  to  poverty."  (Prov. 
23  :   20,  21.) 

**  Woe  unto  them  that  rise  up  early  in  the 
morning,  that  they  may  follow  strong  drink ; 
that  tarry  late  into  the  night,  till  wine  inflame 
them!"  ''Woe  unto  them  that  are  mighty 
to  drink  wine,  and  men  of  strength  to  mingle 
strong  drink  !  "      (Is.  5  :    11,22.) 

God  says  that  drunkards  shall  not  inherit 
the  kingdom  of  God.  (i  Cor.  6:  10;  Gal. 
5:  19-21.) 

Hence  the  command  is  given:  "And  be 
not  drunken  with  wine,  wherein  is  riot,  but 
be  filled  with  the  Spirit."      (Eph.  5  :    18.) 

"Abstain  from  every  form  of  evil."  (i 
Thess.  5  :   22). 

"  It  is  good  not  to  eat  flesh,  nor  to  drink 
wine,  nor  to  do  anything  whereby  thy  brother 
stumbleth."      (Rom.  14:   21.) 

This  is  what  God  says  about  drinking  and 


174  SERMONS  FOR    CHILDREN. 

drunkards  ;  and  what  he  says  is  true.  There- 
fore find  all  these  passages  in  your  Bibles, 
mark  them,  study  and  obey  them. 

But  you  ask :  ''How  may  I  keep  from 
drinking?"  I  am  glad  to  tell  you.  There 
is  one  short  rule  that  will  keep  you  from 
wine  and  strong  drink,  if  you  obey  it.  It  is 
this:  "Never  begin," — just  two  words  and 
no  more.  Every  drunkard  says  as  he  reels 
along:  "Never  begin  to  drink;"  and  God 
says  :  "  Never  begin."  If  you  never  begin 
to  use  wine  and  strong  drink,  you  are  safe  ; 
so  never  begin. 

Do  you  say  that  it  will  be  hard  sometimes 
not  to  drink  ?  So  it  will ;  for  all  good  things 
are  hard.  But  do  as  General  Grant  did  when 
he  was  invited  to  a  great  dinner  in  Texas. 
They  had  spent  a  great  sum  ($1,500)  for 
wines,  in  honor  of  him.  When  the  time  came 
to  serve  the  wine  the  head-waiter  went  first 
to  General  Grant,  for  whom  the  dinner  was 
made.  Without  a  word  the  General  quietly 
turned  down  all  the  glasses  at  his  plate,  thus 
showing  that  he  would  not  drink  any  wine. 
Immediately  every  man  along  the  line  of 
tables  turned  his  glasses  down  and  there  was 
not  a  drop  of  wine  taken  that  night. 


A   MOCKER  AND  A   BRAWLER. 


175 


You  can  do  as  he  did,  and  by  your  not 
drinking,  others  may  be  led  not  to  drink. 
So  don't  begin  to  drink;  for  ''wine  is  a 
mocker,  strong  drink  a  brawler ;  and  whoso- 
ever erreth  thereby  is  not  wise." 


XXXVI. 
PLAYING    OUT    AFTER    DARK. 

Woe  unto  them  that  seek  deep  to  hide  their  counsel  from  the 
Lord,  and  their  work.s  are  in  the  dark,  and  they  say,  Who  seeth  us  ? 
and  who  knoweth  us  ?  —  Isaiah  29  :    15. 

This  text  refers  to  the  evil  things  that  are 
done  in  the  dark,  upon  which  God  utters  a 
woe.  It  tells  us  that  one  of  the  greatest 
perils  for  children  and  youth  is  to  be  on 
the  street  night  after  night,  a  peril  that  you, 
children,  have  around  you,  though  you  do 
not  think  of  it  when  you  tease  to  play  on 
the  street  after  dark.  Your  father  knows 
how  bad  it  is  for  you  to  be  out  in  the  dark, 
and  therefore  he  keeps  you  in-doors,  that  you 
may  be  good  and  not  bad. 

But  you  say  that  the  street  is  lighted. 
Yes  ;  and  a  great  deal  of  crime  and  sin  is 
prevented  by  the  gas  lights  and  electric 
lights.  If  we  had  no  lights  on  the  streets, 
it  would  not  be  safe  for  any  one  to  be  out 
after  dark.  But  as  it  is,  there  are  a  great 
many  dark  places  where  the  vilest  things  are 

176 


PLAYING    OUT  AFTER  DARK.  177 

done.  Boys  and  girls,  men  and  women,  do 
them,  and  tempt  others  to  do  them.  They 
say  :  ''  Who  seeth  us  ?  and  who  knoweth 
us  ?  "  If  you  could  see  all  that  is  going  on 
in  the  dark,  you  would  be  shocked  ;  your 
parents  would  shudder  through  fear  for  you. 

But  you  say  that  you  are  too  small  to  do 
such  things.  No  ;  you  are  not  too  young  to 
do  things  in  the  dark  that  are  dreadful ;  and 
some  of  you  are  doing  them.  Besides,  if  you 
get  into  the  habit  of  playing  on  the  streets 
after  dark,  you  will  be  out  all  the  time  when 
you  grow  up.  It  is  a  great  deal  better  for 
you  to  stay  at  home  evenings  with  your 
mother,  as  I  hope  you  do.  Sometimes  you 
can  go  out  with  your  parents,  but  do  not 
think  of  running  round  the  streets  after  dark  ; 
for  it  is  better  for  you  to  stay  at  home.  You 
will  shun  a  great  deal  of  evil  of  the  vilest 
sort.  If  you  obey  your  parents,  and  stay 
at  home  evenings,  and  are  pleasant  about  it, 
you  are  good. 

But  again  you  cry  out:  ''What  can  we 
do  ?  " 

Well,  you  can  be  pleasant  and  happy 
with  your  mother.  You  can  read,  look  at 
pictures,  solve  puzzles,  play  games,  and  have 


178  SERMONS  FOR    CHILDREN. 

the  best  of  times.  If  you  try  to  please  and 
help  your  mother,  she  will  have  more  time  to 
spend  with  you,  and  a  boy  is  not  worth 
much  who  can  not  be  happy  with  his  mother. 
It  is  delightful  to  go  to  a  house  and  find 
the  children  in-doors  as  bright  and  sunny 
with  their  mother  as  ever  they  can  be.  Do 
not  fret,  if  other  boys  come  along  and  whistle 
for  you  to  come  out,  or  if  they  call  for  you. 
Let  them  go :  you  can  be  happier  than  they 
without  going  into  the  dark  for  it.  They 
have  no  right  to  call  you  out.  Because  they 
do  evil,  you  should  not.  If  they  say  :  ''  No 
one  can  see  us,"  remember  that  God  sees 
them  and  you  too.  He  can  see  in  the 
dark  as  well  as  in  the  light.  You  can  not 
run  away  from  him  or  get  out  of  his  sight. 
Remember  this. 

"  But  we  want  to  go  out  and  play  after 
dark."  Well,  that  is  no  reason  why  you 
should  be  allowed  to  do  it.  You  want  to 
do  many  things  that  are  not  right.  Not 
what  you  want,  but  what  is  best  for  you,  is 
the  true  rule  by  which  your  parents  should 
be  governed.  If  you  are  trained  to  do 
what  you  want  to  do,  and  not  what  is  right 
and  good,  you  will  be  bad,  and  no  prayers 


PLAYING    OUT  AFTER  DARK. 


179 


and  tears  can  save  you  ;  for  when  your 
parents  so  forget  God's  Word  as  to  let  you 
do  as  you  please,  God  will  not  interfere  to 
stop  their  crying.  If  a  boy  be  trained  to  run 
the  streets  after  dark,  where  all  the  bad 
women  can  entice  him,  what  can  save  him? 
And  the  same  is  true  of  the  girl,  so  innocent 
and  beautiful.  Is  it  not  better,  parents,  to 
keep  them  out  of  the  fire  than  to  snatch  them 
out  when  once  the  flame  has  burned  them  ? 
We  press  home  the  duty,  parents,  that  care 
for  the  bodies  and  souls  of  your  children 
is  more  than  the  claims  of  society ;  and 
that  no  sowing  is  more  certain  of  a  bitter 
crop  of  woe  than  the  neglect  of  the  dear 
ones  God  has  given  you  to  be  the  joy  of 
your  home  and  the  delight  of  your  old  age. 
If  you  send  your  children  to  the  streets  or  to 
the  servants,  that  you  may  not  be  bothered 
with  them,  remember  that  the  days  will  soon 
come  when  they  will  send  you  to  your  knees 
in  prayer  and  to  your  closets  in  shame. 

We  speak  earnestly  because  we  hear  the 
children  playing  on  the  streets  until  late  in 
the  evening.  Bad  men  and  bad  women 
are  on  the  streets,  alert  to  ruin  them.  The 
dark    is    their   time  ;   who    can    see    them  ? 


l8o  SERMONS  FOR    CHILDREN.      . 

What  are  they  doing  to  your  boys  and 
girls,  parents  ?  Can  you  imagine  ?  It  is  a 
shame  to  speak  of  the  things  done  in  secret. 
Children  trained  in  the  homes  may  be  kept 
in  their  purity  ;  but  not  so  if  they  are  trained 
to  be  on  the  street  evenings. 

Let  me  urge  you,  parents,  to  know  where 
your  children  are,  and  what  they  are  doing, 
to  keep  them  in  after  dark,  to  make  home  the 
happiest  place  on  earth  for  them,  to  give 
your  best  strength  to  them,  because  they 
are  worth  the  cost,  so  that  you  may  train 
them   in   the  way   they  should  go. 

And  let  me  urge  the  children  not  to  tease 
to  go  out  and  play  on  the  streets  after 
dark,  but  to  stay  in  and  try  to  make  your 
mother  happy.  Do  all  to  please  her  and  you 
will  be  happy  and  good.  God  will  bless 
you  and  make  you  useful.  Try  it,  children. 
Stay  at  home,  the  best  place  on  earth. 


XXXVII. 
JESUS    OUR    HIGH    PRIEST. 

And  the  Word  was   God.     And  the  Word  became  flesh.  — John 
1 :  1, 14. 

In  answer  to  a  question  in  the  Sunday- 
school :  "Who  is  our  high  priest?"  a  class 
of  small  boys  replied  :  "  God."  Others  said: 
''  Jesus  Christ ;  "  and  the  pastor  said  :  "  Jesus 
Christ."  After  school  that  class  came  to  the 
pastor  and  said  :  ''  Is  not  Jesus  Christ  God?" 
The  answer  then  given  by  the  pastor  needs 
to  be  repeated  and  enlarged. 

When  such  questions  arise  we  should  turn 
to  the  Bible,  for  the  Bible  tells  us  more 
about  God  than  we  can  find  out  anywhere 
else.  So  if  we  want  to  know  about  God,  we 
must  study  what  the  Bible  says  about  him. 
What  does  the  Bible  say,  then,  in  answer  to 
the  question  of  the  litde  boys  ? 

I .  The  Bible  says  that  the  Word  was  God. 
Its  words  are:  "In  the  beginning  was  the 
Word,  and  the  Word  was  with  God,  and 
the  Word  was  God.     The  same  was  in  the 


181 


l82  SERMONS  FOR    CHILDREN. 

beginning  with  God.  All  things  were  made 
by  him."  '*  Who,  being  in  the  form  of  God, 
counted  it  not  a  prize  to  be  on  an  equality 
with  God."  When  an  apostle  wished  to  see 
God  the  Father,  Jesus  said :  "  Have  I  been 
so  long  time  with  you,  and  dost  thou  not 
know  me,  Philip  ?  he  that  hath  seen  me 
hath  seen  the  Father."  "  I  and  the  Father 
are  one."  In  his  prayer  to  God  the  Father, 
Jesus  said :  *'  And  all  things  that  are  mine 
are  thine,  and  thine  are  mine."  The  Word 
is  God. 

2.  The  Word  became  flesh  in  Jesus  Christ. 
He  ''  emptied  himself,  taking  the  form  of  a 
servant,  being  made  in  the  likeness  of  men  ; 
and  being  found  in  fashion  as  a  man,  he 
humbled  himself,  becoming  obedient  even 
unto  death,  yea,  the  death  of  the  cross." 
"  And  the  Word  became  flesh."  The  Word 
took  a  body  of  flesh  and  blood,  which  died 
and  rose  again. 

3.  This  Word  made  flesh  is  our  high 
priest.  God  the  Father  is  never  called  our 
high  priest.  God  the  Spirit  is  never  called 
our  high  priest.  But  God  the  Son,  the 
eternal  Word  made  flesh,  is  called  our  high 
priest.      He   is  Jesus  Christ.      Hence  Jesus 


JESUS  OUR  HIGH  PRIEST.  183 

Christ  is  our  High  Priest.  "  It  behoved 
him  in  all  things  to  be  made  like  unto  his 
brethren,  that  he  might  be  a  merciful  and 
faithful  high  priest  in  things  pertaining  to 
God.  .  .  .  For  in  that  he  himself  hath 
suffered  being  tempted,  he  is  able  to  succor 
them  that  are  tempted."  "  But  Christ  having 
come  a  high  priest  of  the  good  things  to 
come  .  .  .  entered  in  once  for  all  into  the 
holy  place,  having  obtained  eternal  redemp- 
tion." 

The  Word  that  was  God  became  Jesus 
Christ,  who  suffered  on  the  cross,  arose  from 
the  dead,  ascended  into  heaven,  and  inter- 
cedes for  us  as  our  high  priest. 

No  one  can  explain  to  you  or  any  one  else 
how  these  things  are  so,  but  you  can  and 
should  believe  them ;  for  the  Bible  says  that 
they  are  so.  Nor  is  this  a  strange  thing, 
for  there  are  many  things  we  know  to  be 
true,  which  we  can  not  explain.  I  wish  to 
raise  my  hand,  and  I  raise  it,  I  move  it  as  I 
will.  You  can  raise  and  move  your  hands. 
But  no  one  can  fully  explain  how  we  do  it. 
You  eat  food,  and  you  like  it ;  but  no  one 
can  tell  how  the  same  food  becomes  bone, 
flesh,  tissue,  blood,  brain,  hair,   nails,   skin, 


184  SERMONS  FOR    CHILDREN. 

etc.  ;  yet  it  does  become  all  these,  and  you 
grow.  You  plant  a  seed  In  the  ground. 
Can  you  tell  how  it  sprouts,  grows,  and 
becomes  a  flower,  a  shrub,  or  a  tree  ?  Can 
you  explain  how  the  same  sap  that  we  boil 
down  into  maple  sugar  becomes  wood,  bark, 
leaves,  blossoms,  seeds  ?  No,  you  can  not 
tell ;  nor  can  any  one  else  fully  tell  how 
these  things  come  to  pass.  But  they  do 
come  to  pass  ;  they  are  taking  place  all  the 
time,  though  we  can  not  explain  them. 

If  we  can  not  tell  how  a  tree  grows,  or 
how  we  move,  we  must  not  expect  to  explain 
every  thing  about  Jesus  Christ  the  God-Man, 
how  the  eternal  Word  became  flesh  and 
dwelt  among  men,  full  of  truth  and  grace. 
If  we  can  not  understand  the  thing  made, 
can  we  expect  to  know  all  about  the  Maker  ? 
By  no  means. 

We  can  believe  the  things  that  we  can  not 
know ;  and  we  should  believe  what  the  Bible 
says  of  Jesus  Christ,  the  Word  made  flesh, 
that  he  is  God,  that  he  is  man,  that  he  is  our 
high  priest,  atoning  for  the  sins  of  the  world. 

Now  a  priest  is  one  who  offers  sacrifices 
for  sins.  The  Jewish  priest  took  a  bullock, 
killed   it,   burnt    its    flesh   on    an    altar,   and 


yESUS  OUR  HIGH  PRIEST.  185 

offered  its  blood  in  the  place  of  the  blood  of 
the  one  bringing-  it  to  the  priest.  The  high 
priest  sprinkled  its  blood  before  the  ark  of 
God  in  the  Holy  of  Holies  once  a  year,  for 
the  sins  of  the  people.  And  Jesus  Christ, 
our  high  priest,  had  to  offer  blood  for  the 
sins  of  the  world,  and  so  he  offered  his  own 
blood  once  for  all  for  the  sins  of  the  world, 
and  ''obtained  eternal  redemption"  for  all 
who  believe  in  him  and  do  his  will.  Other 
high  priests  entered  into  the  Holy  of  Holies 
once  every  year,  bearing  the  blood  of  the 
bullock;  Jesus  Christ  entered  once  for  all 
into  heaven,  when  he  offered  himself,  bear- 
ing his  own  blood.  He  is  our  glorious, 
sufficient,  and  eternal  high  priest.  We 
need  no  other  priest ;  we  have  no  other 
priest.  Jesus  Christ  is  our  high  priest:  he 
offers  no  more  a  sacrifice  for  sins,  for  his 
death  is  all  that  will  ever  be  needed.  We 
can  ask  no  more  than  that  he  should  die  for 
our  salvation. 

This  is  the  answer  the  Bible  gives  your 
question,  boys.  It  says  that  the  Word  was 
God,  that  the  Word  became  flesh,  or  man, 
that  the  Word  made  flesh  was  Jesus  Christ, 
that  he  is  our  high  priest,  that  he  died  on 


1 86  SERMONS  FOR    CHILDREN. 

the  cross  shedding  his  own  blood  and  offer- 
ing it  for  sins,  that  he  did  it  once  for  all  and 
will  never  do  it  again,  and  that  we  have 
eternal  redemption  in  his  blood  thus  offered. 
Jesus  Christ  is  therefore  God  and  man,  our 
high  priest.  He  alone  could  offer  himself 
as  the  sufficient  sacrifice  for  sins,  so  that 
there  would  be  no  need  of  another  forever. 
Let  us  praise  him  for  the  hope  of  life  eternal 
through  his  blood. 


XXXVIII. 
SORROW    FOR    SIN. 

I  will  be  sorry  for  my  sin.—  Ps.  38 :  18. 

This  was  said  by  a  king,  by  a  great  and 
good  king,  by  David,  king  of  Israel.  He 
sometimes  did  wrong,  and  his  wrong-doing 
is  told  in  the  Bible.  But  he  was  not  too 
proud  to  confess  his  sins,  or  to  be  sorry  for 
them.  Now,  if  a  great  king  was  not  ashamed 
to  confess  his  faults,  and  to  be  sorry  for  his 
sins,  there  is  no  boy  or  girl  here,  or  man 
or  woman  either,  that  need  be  ashamed  to 
confess  his  sins  and  be  sorry  for  them. 

Perhaps  you  think  that  you  ought  not 
to  do  as  the  king  of  Israel  did.  But  there 
is  great  need  that  you  feel  sorry  for  sin,  and 
repent  of  it,  as  he  did. 

I.  You  do  wrong,  every  one  of  you.  As 
good  as  you  try  to  be,  you  fail  now  and  then, 
perhaps  many  times  a  day.  You  say  and  do 
things  that  you  know  to  be  wrong.  You 
strike  your  little  brother  or  sister  or  play- 
mate, or  say  sharp    words  to  them.     When 

187 


1 88  SERMONS  FOR    CHILDREN. 

you  are  hard  at  play,  you  do  not  heed  your 
mother's  call,  but  you  loiter  and  disobey  her. 
Perhaps  some  of  you  tell  lies,  or  take  God's 
name  in  vain,  and  use  bad,  vulgar  words. 
You  get  cross  and  slam  the  door,  and  pout, 
and  cry,  and  answer  your  mother  back.  If  I 
were  able  to  tell  here  and  now  all  the  wrong 
things  you  have  said  and  done  during  the 
past  week,  you  would  be  ashamed  and  hang 
your  heads. 

But  you  see  that,  young  as  you  are,  you 
need  to  confess  your  wrong-doings.  I  could 
not  find  one  here  but  would  say:  ''I  have 
done  many  things  that  I  ought  not  to  have 
done." 

2.  You  ought  to  be  sorry  for  your  sin. 
King  David  was  sorry  for  his  sin  ;  and  you 
ought  to  be  sorry  for  your  sin.  You  feel 
bad  when  you  do  wrong.  Your  conscience 
troubles  you.  You  can  not  come  into  the 
house  where  your  mother  is,  without  showing 
by  your  conduct  that  you  have  done  wrong. 
You  are  guilty  of  sin.  When  you  do  right, 
you  feel  glad,  and  you  ought  to  be  glad  ;  but 
when  you  do  wrong,  you  are  sad,  and  you 
ought  to  be  sorry.  You  cry  over  it.  You 
wish    you   had  not  done  it.     You   are  sorry 


SORROW  FOR   SIN.  1 89 

for  your  sin.  Sin  hurts  and  pains  you.  Will 
you  put  your  finger  into  the  fire  ?  No  ;  be- 
cause it  will  be  burned.  I  could  not  per- 
suade you  to  thrust  your  hand  into  a  hot 
stove.  God  has  made  sin  to  hurt  us,  that  we 
might  shun  it  as  we  would  fire.  But  this  is 
not  all. 

3.  You  ought  to  forsake  sin.      If  you  have 
done  wrong,  as  you  have,  and  if  you  feel  bad 
over   it,  do  as   king  David   did,  confess  your 
sin,  be  sorry  for  it,  so  sorry  as  to  confess  and 
forsake  it.       Do  not  do  that  evil  thing  again. 
You  need  not  tell  it  to  every  body,  but  to  your 
mother  and    to    Jesus    Christ   your  Saviour. 
You    should    tell    them  about    it,  how   sorry 
you  are  that  you  did  it,  and  then  ask  them 
to  forgive  you.     But  this  is  not  all  you  need 
to  do.     For  if  you  should  go  right  out  and  do 
the  same  thing  again,  what  would  they  think 
of  your  grief  and  confession  ?     They  would 
say  that  you  did  not  care   much  about  your 
sin,   after  all ;  for  you    did  the   same  wrong 
again.     If  you  are  really  sorry  for  sin,  you 
will    not    commit    the    same    sin  again    very 
soon. 

4.  When    you   are   so   sorry  for  sin   as    to 
forsake  it,  then  Christ  will  forgive  you.     You 


IQO 


SERMONS  FOR    CHILDREN. 


may  forget  sometimes,  and  do  the  wrong 
thoughtlessly ;  but  you  will  try  and  not  for- 
get ;  and  when  you  do,  you  will  ask  Christ 
to  forgive  you  again.  When  your  mother 
forgives  you,  you  feel  happy ;  and  when 
Christ  forgives  you,  you  will  feel  as  David 
did  when  he  said  :  "  Blessed  is  he  whose 
transgression  is  forgiven,  whose  sin  is 
covered.  Blessed  is  the  man  unto  whom 
the  Lord  imputeth  not  iniquity,  and  in 
whose  spirit  there  is  no  guile."  "  Be  glad 
in  the  Lord,  and  rejoice,  ye  righteous :  and 
shout  for  joy,  all  ye  that  are  upright  in 
heart."  What  makes  Christians  so  happy  is 
the  fact  that  they  have  been  forgiven.  If 
you  are  really  sorry  for  your  sins,  and  will 
confess  them,  and  turn  from  them,  Christ 
will  forgive  you. 

And  this  is  just  what  God  wants  you  to 
do.  He  wants  to  forgive  you  ;  for  "  God  so 
loved  the  world,  that  he  gave  his  only  begot- 
ten Son,  that  whosoever  believeth  on  him 
should  not  perish,  but  have  eternal  life." 
This  means  that  God  loves  you,  that  Christ 
died  for  you,  and  that  you  may  believe  on 
him,  and  so  have  life  eternal.  But  you  are 
to    trust    in  Jesus,  to   believe  in  him,  to  be 


SORROW  FOR  SIN. 


191 


SO  sorry  for  sin  as  to  forsake  It,  and  to  obey 
him. 

But  how  shall  you  come  to  God  In  prayer  ? 
Two  men  went  up  into  the  temple  In 
Jerusalem  to  pray.  One  of  them  boasted 
how  good  he  was,  that  he  was  better  than 
others,  and  was  not  sorry  for  his  sins.  God 
did  not  bless  him.  The  other  felt  very  sorry 
for  his  sins,  so  sorry  that  he  could  not  lift 
up  his  eyes  to  heaven,  but  smote  upon  his 
breast  saying,  ''  God,  be  merciful  to  me  a 
sinner."  He  was  so  humble  and  penitent 
that  he  was  forgiven.  His  sorry  heart  was 
made  glad  in  the  Lord.  He  went  home 
happy.  So,  if  you  boast  how  good  you 
are,  and  pride  yourself  on  being  better  than 
others,  you  will  not  feel  sorry  for  sin  ;  but 
if  you  think  how  many  wrong  things  you 
have  done,  and  are  sorry  in  your  heart  for 
them,  so  sorry  that  you  too  will  say:  *'  God, 
be  merciful  to  me  a  sinner !  "  then  God 
will  forgive  your  sins,  and  will  make  you 
glad  In  the  Lord. 


XXXIX. 
HOW  TO    BECOME   A   CHRISTIAN. 

My  son,  give  me  thine  lieart,  and  let  thine  eyes  dehght  in  my  ways.  — 
Prov.  23 :  26. 

I  WILL  tell  you,  children,  how  you  may  be 
Christians ;  and  I  mean  by  Christians,  those 
that  love  and  obey  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 
This  is  the  most  important  thing  I  can  tell 
you.  And  I  pray  God  to  open  your  hearts 
to  hear  and  obey  what  I  say. 

1.  The  Lord  calls  each  one  his  son.  Your 
father  and  your  mother  call  you  sons  or 
daughters.  God  is  your  Father  in  heaven. 
He  made  you,  he  keeps  you  alive,  he  gives 
you  all  good  things,  he  can  command  you  to 
do  his  will.  You  are  his  children.  But  you 
have  done  wrong.  You  have  not  always 
obeyed  him.  You  have  been  naughty  some- 
times. When  you  do  not  obey  your  parents 
or  do  other  naughty  things,  you  sin  against 
God  your  Father  in  heaven.  So  he  comes 
to  you  and  says : — 

2.  *'  My  son,  give  me  thine  heart."  This 
means  that  you  are  to  yield  up  your  will  to 

192 


HOW   TO  BECOME  A    CHRISTIAN. 


193 


him  in  every  thing.  You  are  not  to  stand 
out  against  him.  Do  you  understand  me? 
Let  me  explain.  You  have,  I  will  suppose, 
some  fruit  that  is  poisonous.  It  will  kill  you 
if  you  eat  it,  unless  the  doctor  cures  you.  I 
ask  you  to  give  it  to  me.  You  will  not  do 
it,  for  the  fruit  is  so  very  fair  and  beautiful. 
Your  father  says:  "My  son,  give  me  that 
fruit."  You  feel  that  you  ought  to  give  it 
up,  for  your  father  has  a  right  to  command 
you.  But  you  want  the  fruit,  it  looks  so  fair, 
and  you  want  to  eat  it ;  so  you  hold  on  to  it 
and  cry.  He  says  again  kindly  but  firmly : 
*'  Give  it  to  me."  Now  you  could  easily 
reach  out  your  hand  and  give  it ;  but  you 
do  not.  And  why  do  you  not  hand  him  the 
poisonous  fruit  ?  It  is  because  your  heart  or 
will  does  not  give  it  up.  Just  as  soon  as 
your  heart  yields  and  you  are  willing  to  obey, 
your  hand  holds  out  the  fruit.  You  give  up 
your  heart  first  and  then  the  deadly  fruit. 

God  wants  you  to  give  up  every  evil 
thought  and  word  and  deed ;  but  you  will 
not  do  it  unless  you  first  give  up  your  heart 
or  will.  So  he  asks  first  for  your  heart ;  for 
if  you  give  him  your  heart,  you  will  do  all 
else  that   he  wants.      Give  him   then   your 


194  SERMONS  FOR    CHILDREN. 

heart  first ;  do  not  stand  out  against  him. 
Say  to  him,  as  you  say  to  your  father  and 
mother:  "  I  will  do  just  as  you  want  me  to 
do,  because  you  love  me  so.  I  won't  be 
naughty  any  more.  I  will  keep  your  com- 
mandments. Oh,  forgive  me,  and  help  me 
to  be  good  !  " 

When  you  can  say  this  truly,  and  give  up 
whatever  he  wants  you  to  give  up,  and  do 
whatever  he  wants  you  to  do,  then  you  give 
your  heart  to  Christ.  You  are  ready  and 
willing  to  do  just  as  he  wants  you  to  do. 
This  is  the  first   step   in    being  a  Christian. 

3.  "And  let  thine  eyes  delight  in  my 
ways."  This  is  the  life  that  follows  the  first 
step.  A  boy  observes  and  delights  in  the 
ways  of  his  father.  He  wants  to  be  as  large 
and  strong  as  his  father,  and  to  do  as  his 
father  does.  So  the  girl  wants  to  be  like  her 
mother,  and  so  puts  on  her  mother's  dress 
that  she  may  be  a  little  woman. 

Christ  would  use  this  desire,  and  so  he 
wants  you  to  observe  and  delight  in  his 
ways,  which  are  always  right,  that  you  may 
be  like  him.  For  if  you  give  him  your  heart, 
and  then  do  as  he  does,  you  are  Christians, 
that  is,  followers  of  Christ. 


HOW   TO  BECOME  A    CHRISTIAN.  195 

You  can  not  see  Christ,  but  he  has  given 
his  will  in  the  Bible  that  you  may  know  just 
what  to  do.  He  there  tells  you  to  pray,  to 
read  the  Bible,  to  go  to  church,  to  join  his 
church,  to  be  kind,  truthful,  honest,  pure, 
good.  He  there  tells  you  not  to  swear,  lie, 
steal,  cheat,  do  wrong  of  any  kind. 

To  be  a  Christian,  then,  is  to  yield  up 
your  heart  to  Christ  so  as  to  do  as  he  tells 
you  in  all  things.  As  you  give  up  to  your 
parents  and  obey  them  when  you  want  to 
have  your  own  way,  so  you  are  to  give  up 
your  heart  to  Christ  and  do  as  he  requires, 
though  you  want  to  have  your  own  way. 
To  do  this,  is  to  be  a  Christian. 

4.  You  ought  to  give  your  heart  to  Christ 
and  to  delight  in  his  ways.  It  is  the  right 
and  good  thing  to  do  always.  He  created 
you,  and  redeemed  you  by  his  own  precious 
blood.  He  was  put  to  death  on  the  cross 
to  give  you  a  chance  of  coming  to  him,  that 
you  might  be  saved.  He  is  holy,  just,  and 
good.  It  is  right  to  love  and  obey  him.  It  is 
very  wrong  to  refuse  to  give  him  your  heart 
and  obedience.  He  loves  you,  and  will  for- 
give you,  and  make  you  his  dear  children. 
You  know  that  I  love  you,  and  would  do  all 


196 


SERMONS  FOR    CHILDREN. 


in  my  power  to  make  you  good  and  happy. 
You  know  that  your  parents  love  you,  and 
do  all  they  can  to  make  you  good  and  happy. 
But  Jesus  loves  you  more  than  I  or  your 
parents  do.  He  has  done  more  for  you,  and 
can  do  more  for  you,  than  any  one  else. 
When,  then,  you  feel  sorry  for  sin,  and  want 
to  be  better  than  you  are,  go  to  him  in 
prayer,  tell  him  you  love  him  and  want  to 
be  holy  and  good,  to  be  his  faithful  followers, 
and  ask  him  to  take  you  as  his  own  dear 
children  and  to  help  you  to  live  as  you  ought. 
Then  do  all  he  commands  you,  shun  every 
bad  word  and  act,  love  his  church  and  peo- 
ple, and  you  will  be  Christians,  followers  of 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

Will  you  not  do  it,  dear  children  ?     Say  to 
him :  — 

''Just  as  I  am,  thou  wilt  receive, 
Wilt  welcome,  pardon,  cleanse,  relieve, 
Because  thy  promise  I  believe, 
O  Lamb  of  God,  I  come  ! " 


XL. 
SUFFERING    AS    A     CHRISTIAN. 

But  if  a   man   suffer  as   a  Christian,  let  him  not  be  ashamed ;  but 
let  him  glorify  God  in  this  name. —  i  Peter  4:  16. 

A  Christian  is  one  who  follows  and  obeys 
Christ,  and  Jesus  Christ  is  the  only  perfect 
one  that  ever  lived  on  earth.  Yet  at  the 
time  that  Peter  wrote  our  text  the  very 
name  of  Christ  was  hated  above  all  others. 
It  was  even  infamous.  With  the  Jews  to 
call  a  man  a  Christian  was  the  same  as  to 
call  him  a  renegade,  a  rebel  ;  with  the 
heathen  it  was  equal  to  atheist,  or  one  who 
believes  there  is  no  God.  It  cost  some- 
thing at  that  time  to  be  a  Christian.  Men 
suffered  for  Christ's  sake.  They  were  put 
in  prison  and  put  to  death  as  Christians. 
If  officers  were  to  go  through  this  state 
and  arrest  every  one  who  really  believes 
in  Christ,  putting  them  in  jail  and  hanging 
them,  you  see  that  to  be  a  Christian,  you 
would  have  to  suffer,  and  suffer  a  great  deal. 

X97 


198  SERMONS  FOR    CHILDREN. 

There  was  need  then  of  saying  to  them, 
"  If  ye  are  reproached  for  the  name  of 
Christ,  blessed  are  ye  ;  because  the  Spirit 
of  glory  and  the  Spirit  of  God  resteth  upon 
you.  For  let  none  of  you  suffer  as  a  mur- 
derer, or  a  thief,  or  an  evil-doer,  or  as  a 
meddler  in  other  men's  matters  :  but  if  a 
man  suffer  as  a  Christian,  let  him  not  be 
ashamed  ;  but  let  him  glorify  God  in  this 
name." 

Some  of  you,  children,  are  Christians, 
and  I  wish  you  all  were  Christians  :  and 
if  you  suffer  as  Christians,  that  is,  because 
you  love  Christ  and  follow  him,  do  not  be 
ashamed.  You  are  doing  what  is  right, 
what  God  approves,  what  you  approve ; 
and  if  thoughtless  or  evil  men  laugh  at 
you  or  call  you  names,  why  should  you 
be  ashamed  ?  What  can  they  do  for  you 
when  they  and  you  stand  before  God  in 
judgment?  If  you  do  any  thing  wrong, 
you  ought  to  be  ashamed  ;  but  if  you  do 
that  which  is  right,  you  should  be  glad. 
You  should  not  blush  for  doing  right.  The 
boy  that  swears,  that  tells  lies,  that  steals, 
that  breaks  the  Sabbath,  that  does  any  wrong 
thing,  should  hide  his  head  in    shame  ;  but 


SUFFERING  AS  A    CHRISTIAN. 


199 


the  boy  that  does  not  swear,  nor  He,  nor 
steal,  nor  run  away,  nor  disobey  parents, 
nor  do  any  evil,  that  boy  God  honors,  and 
why  should  he  be  ashamed  ?     Can  you  tell  ? 

You  are  tempted  to  do  what  is  wrong, 
or  what  your  parents  forbid,  and  the  finger 
of  scorn  may  be  pointed  at  you,  if  you  do  not 
yield  ;  but  do  not  blush  and  yield.  Be  as 
brave  for  Christ  as  were  the  early  Christians. 
Those  that  tempt  you  ought  to  hang  their 
heads.  Those  who  laugh  at  you  ought  to 
be  ashamed  at  their  own  ill  manners  and 
want  of  principle.  Sin  is  something  to  be 
ashamed  of.  Teasing  others  for  not  doing 
what  they  think  it  wrong  to  do,  is  something 
to  be  ashamed  of.  But  to  do  what  God  re- 
quires, to  be  a  follower  of  Christ,  a  faithful 
Christian,  is  the  greatest  honor  one  can 
have.  Never  be  ashamed  of  it.  Never  be 
ashamed  to  suffer  all  things  for  Him  who 
died  for  you  ;  for  if  you  are  ashamed  of  him, 
he  will  be  ashamed  of  you. 

Rather  glorify  God  in  the  name  Christian. 
By  being  known  as  a  Christian,  by  living  as 
a  Christian,  you  glorify  God ;  you  bring 
honor  unto  his  name.  It  is  of  little  use  to 
talk    about    religion,    to    tell    others    to   be 


TOO  SERMONS  FOR    CHILDREN. 

religious,  if  when  the  pinch  comes  we  are 
ashamed  to  be  regarded  as  Christians.  If 
we  think  that  we  can  be  Christians  and  do 
every  evil  thing  that  others  do,  we  are  mis- 
taken. We  must  follow  Christ  to  be  Chris- 
tians, and  shun  whatever  is  wrong,  whatever 
grieves  him.  Then  we  glorify  God  in  this 
name. 

I  am  glad  when  I  hear  that  you  stand  fast 
in  right  doing,  that  you  are  not  ashamed  of 
the  name  Christian,  that  you  wnll  not  do  any 
thing  that  is  wrong  :  for  you  glorify  God  in 
so  doing,  you  preach  the  gospel,  you  are 
doing  most  for  Christ  and  his  church,  you 
are  letting  your  light  so  shine  before  men 
that  they  seeing  your  good  works  will 
glorify  God.  Keep  on  in  the  same  way,  for 
God  shall  bless  you  in  it. 

Do  any  of  you  think  that  you  can  be 
Christians  in  church  and  do  as  others  do 
out  of  church  ?  That  you  can  follow  Christ, 
and  at  the  same  time  deny  yourself  nothing 
that  others  delight  in  ?  You  must  remember 
what  Christ  said  on  this  very  point :  "  If 
any  man  would  come  after  me,  let  him  deny 
himself,  and  take  up  his  cross,  and  follow 
me."     We  deny  ourselves,  when  for  Christ's 


SUFFERING  AS  A    CHRISTIAN.  20I 

sake  we  refuse  to  do  what  would  work  111 
to  the  cause  of  Christ  and  to  our  own  souls. 
If  you  suffer  for  Christ,  blessed  are  you  ; 
if  you  are  ashamed  of  Christ,  he  will  be 
ashamed  of  you. 


XLI. 
THE   BOY  SAMUEL. 

And  the  child  did  minister  unto  the  Lord  before  Eli  the  priest. — 
I  Sam.  2:  II. 

I  WISH  to  tell  you,  children,  of  the  little 
boy  Samuel,  who  ministered  unto  the  Lord, 
and  who#became  one  of  the  best  and  greatest 
men  that  ever  lived.  He  lived  in  the  twelfth 
century  before  Christ. 

He  was  given  to  his  mother  in  answer  to 
her  prayers.  He  was  a  child  of  prayer.  His 
mother,  therefore,  granted  or  gave  him  to  the 
Lord,  as  long  as  he  should  live.  She  brought 
him  when  very  young  to  the  house  of  the 
Lord,  to  live  there,  that  he  might  learn  to  be 
a  minister  of  God.  His  mother  did  not  for- 
get him,  but  made  him  clothes,  and  brought 
them  to  him  every  year,  when  she  came  to 
worship  God.  No  doubt  she  prayed  for  him 
every  day,  as  your  mothers  do  for  you,  that 
he  might  grow  up  a  good  boy  and  a  good 
man.  She  did  all  she  could  to  have  him  live 
a  pious  life. 


THE  BOY  SAMUEL.  2O3 

When  he  was  grown  to  be  a  lad,  he  was 
asleep  one  night  in  the  house  of  the  Lord, 
and  the  high  priest  Eli  was  in  the  same 
house  or  temple.  And  the  word  of  the  Lord 
was  precious  because  rare  in  those  days. 
Men,  as  the  high  priest  Eli,  were  not  used 
to  hearing  God  speak  to  them.  It  Is  no 
wonder  then  that  a  little  child  should  not 
know  God's  voice.  When  the  Lord  called 
Samuel,  he  awoke  from  sleep,  and  said : 
"  Here  am  L"  And  he  ran  unto  Eli,  and 
said:  **  Here  am  I;  for  thou  calledst  me." 
And  Eli  said:  "  I  called  not;  lie  down  again." 
God  called  him  a  second  and  third  time,  and 
Samuel  ran  unto  Eli  as  before.  Then  EH 
told  him  that  it  was  the  Lord  calling  him, 
and  if  He  called  again,  he  should  say: 
"Speak,  Lord;  for  thy  servant  heareth." 
He  did  as  Eli  told  him,  and  God  told  him 
His  message.  Read  the  whole  story,  (i 
Sam.  3  :    1-2 1.) 

Samuel  always  did  just  as  the  Lord  com- 
manded him  to  do  as  long  as  he  lived. 
Hence  it  is  said  that  ''the  Lord  was  with 
him,  and  did  let  none  of  his  words  fall  to  the 
ground.  And  all  Israel,  from  Dan  even  to 
Beersheba  knew  that  Samuel  was  established 


204  SERMONS  FOR    CHILDREN. 

to  be  a  prophet  of  the  Lord."  "And  the 
word  of  Samuel  came  to  all  Israel."  His 
mother's  prayer  was  answered,  and  her  care 
in  training  him  made  him  one  of  the  purest 
and  noblest  characters  in  the  Old  Testament 
history.  He  was  a  good  and  great  man,  a 
judge  in  all  Israel,  a  prophet  of  the  Lord. 
We  can  not  tell  all  his  noble  life  here. 

There  are  some  things  in  which  each  boy 
and  girl  can  be  like  the  prophet  Samuel. 
You  can  not  tell  beforehand  what  is  going 
to  take  place,  as  he  did ;  nor  may  you  hear 
God  calling  you  by  name  in  the  night,  as  he 
did;  but  in  some  things  you  can  be  what 
Samuel  was. 

I.  You  can  please  your  parents.  Hannah 
wanted  Samuel  to  give  his  life  to  God ;  and 
for  this  end  she  granted  or  lent  him  unto 
the  Lord  in  the  temple  service.  He  pleased 
her  by  continuing  in  such  service.  Your 
parents  may  have  given  you  to  God,  perhaps 
they  have  set  you  apart  to  his  service.  In 
prayer,  if  not  in  baptism,  they  may  have  pre- 
sented you  to  God.  They  pray  for  you  still 
day  by  day.  They  teach  you  what  you 
should  do  and  what  you  should  not  do. 
They  bring  you  to  church,  that  the  minister 


THE  BOY  SAMUEL.  2O5 

of  God  may  instruct  you.  They  send  you 
to  the  Sunday-school,  that  you  may  learn 
God's  will  from  the  study  of  the  Bible. 
Now,  if  you  attend  to  all  these  things,  and 
live  up  to  what  you  hear  and  learn,  as 
Samuel  did,  you  will  also  please  your  parents. 
To  make  them  feel  bad  by  your  naughty  be- 
havior, is  not  to  do  what  Samuel  did.  To 
please  them  and  make  them  happy,  this  is 
what  you  should  do,  as  long  as  you  live. 

2.  You  can  obey  the  call  of  God.  He  will 
not  speak  out  of  the  darkness  of  the  night 
and  call  you  by  name,  as  he  did  the  boy 
Samuel ;  but  he  will  and  does  call  after  you 
by  his  ministers,  his  teachers,  his  Bible  and 
his  spirit.  When  you  hear  any  call  to  duty, 
say  as  Samuel  did :  ''  Here  am  I."  He 
obeyed  the  call  four  times  before  he  found 
out  what  was  wanted,  so  ready  and  willing 
was  he.  You  hear  my  voice,  your  teacher's 
voice,  your  parent's  voice ;  but  if  you  could 
not  hear  it  and  yet  could  know  what  was 
wanted,  you  could  obey  just  as  well.  Hence 
when  you  know  what  you  ought  to  do,  do  it  ; 
when  conscience  tells  you  not  to  do  a  thing, 
do  not  do  it.  When  the  Bible  says :  *'  My 
son,    if    sinners    entice    thee,    consent   thou 


2o6  SERMONS  FOR    CHILDREN. 

not,"  it  is  God  telling-  you  not  to  sin. 
When  it  says:  ''My  son,  give  me  thine 
heart,"  it  is  God  asking  for  your  love  and 
obedience.  When  it  says  :  "  Come  unto  me, 
and  I  will  give  you  rest,"  it  is  Jesus  pleading 
with  you  to  confess  your  sins  to  him,  and 
to  be  pious  all  your  days,  as  Samuel  was. 
Thus  you  can  hear  and  obey  the  call  of  God, 
though  he  does  not  speak  to  you  by  name. 

3.  You  can  obey  at  once.  Samuel,  when 
he  heard  the  call,  did  not  answer  and  then 
fall  asleep  again  ;  but  he  went  to  Eli  at  once. 
You  hear  your  mother  call  you  in  the  morn- 
ing, do  you  get  up  at  once,  or  fall  asleep 
again  ?  You  hear  her  call  during  the  day, 
do  you  obey,  or  wait  awhile  ?  Obey  her  with- 
out delay. 

So  when  God  calls  you  to  duty,  to  speak 
the  truth,  to  shun  bad  words,  to  read  the 
Bible,  to  pray,  to  confess  your  faults,  to  be 
pious  and  good  in  all  things,  say  :  "  Here  am 
I,  Lord;"  "Speak,  Lord;  for  thy  servant 
heareth ; "  and  obey,  as  Samuel  did,  all 
through  your  life.  Thus  the  boy  Samuel 
is  a  good  pattern  for  you  to  follow.  God 
wants  you  to  be  like  him  in  these  things, 
that  you  too  may  be  pure  and  noble  and 
good. 


XLII. 
BE     HONEST. 

A  false  balance  is  an  abomination  to  the  Lord :  but  a  just  weight 
is  his  delight.  —  Prov.  it :  i. 

If  you  buy  something  at  the  store,  you 
notice  that  they  either  weigh  it  or  else  meas- 
ure it.  Now  if  the  weight  on  the  scales  or 
balances  be  lighter  than  it  ought  to  be,  or 
the  measure  be  shorter  or  smaller  than  it 
ought  to  be,  then  you  get  cheated  every 
time  you  buy  at  that  store.  But  if  the 
weights  and  measures  be  right,  then  you 
are  not  cheated.  The  one  is  a  false  bal- 
ance, which  is  an  abomination  to  the  Lord  ; 
but  the  other  is  a  just  weight,  which  is  his 
delight. 

If  you  were  to  go  into  the  county  clerk's 
office  and  ask  him,  he  would  show  you  the 
standard  weights  and  measures,  which  are 
just  what  they  ought  to  be,  and  which  are 
kept  there  to  test  all  other  weights  and  meas- 
ures in  the  county.  No  one,  then,  needs 
to  have  false  yard-sticks,  or  false  pounds,  or 
false  bushels ;  but  he   can  have  just   yards, 


2q8  sermons  for  children. 

just  pounds,  and  just  bushels.  It  may  be  that 
you  can  not  find  a  false  balance  or  measure 
in  the  city,  but  some  men  cheat  with  them 
nevertheless ;  some  men  do,  and  others  do 
not,  cheat  In  weight  and  measure. 

Where  shall  I  find  an  honest  child  —  one 
that  will  not  cheat  in  the  dark  or  on  the  sly, 
but  will  do  the  square,  honest  thing  every 
time  ?  Such  boys  and  girls  are  in  demand  ; 
the  world  wants  them.  Do  you  cry  out : 
''Here  we  are"?  Well,  then,  let  me  test 
you,  to  see  if  you  are  really  honest  or  not. 

I.  First  test.  You  go  to  the  store,  let  us 
suppose,  to  buy  something.  You  have  fifty 
cents  to  pay  for  it.  The  article  costs  thirty- 
five  cents,  leaving  you  fifteen  cents  for 
change.  But  by  mistake  the  man  gives 
you  back  twenty  cents,  and  you  see  the  mis- 
take, that  he  has  paid  you  five  cents  too 
much.  What  now  will  you  do  ?  give  back 
the  five  cents,  or  keep  them  ?  Will  you  say 
that  he  made  the  mistake,  and  must  lose  the 
money  ?  or  will  you  say  that  he  made  a 
mistake,  and  that  you  ought  not  to  take 
advantage  of  it  ?  Which  is  honest  and 
right  ?  Why,  you  know  that  you  ought  to 
do  as  you  would  be  done  by,  and  give  the 


BE  HONEST. 


209 


money  back.  If  you  keep  the  money,  you 
are  dishonest ;  if  you  give  it  back  as  you 
ought,  you  are  honest.  Which  do  you 
think  you  would  do  in  such  a  case  ?  This 
is  one  test  of  your  honesty. 

2.  Second  test.  Your  mother  asks  you  at 
night,  if  you  have  been  good  during  the  day. 
You  think  of  one  bad  thing  you  have  done, 
but  you  are  ashamed  to  tell  her  of  it.  You 
would  like  to  hide  it,  it  is  so  bad.  Which 
will  you  do,  hide  it  or  tell  it  ?  If  you  hide 
it,  you  act  dishonestly  towards  your  mother. 
She  has  a  right  to  know  what  her  dear 
child  has  been  doing ;  but  you  hide  it  from 
her,  it  is  so  bad.  That  Is  not  honest  or  true. 
Tell  her  all  about  it,  just  as  it  was,  do  not 
keep  a  bit  of  it  back :  for  that  is  honest  and 
right  and  true.  Now,  which  do  you  do,  hide 
it  or  tell  it  ?  Here  is  a  second  test  of  your 
honesty. 

3.  Third  test.  You  are  playing,  and  you 
see  how  you  can  win  the  game  by  cheating, 
when  no  one  will  see  it.  Stop  a  moment, 
you  will  see  it,  and  God  will  see  it ;  you  can 
not  cheat,  and  have  no  one  at  all  see  you 
do  it.  But  you  think  you  can  cheat  and 
those    playing    with    you    will    not    see    it. 


2IO  SERMONS  FOR    CHILDREN. 

What  will  you  do,  cheat  and  win,  or  be 
honest  and  lose?  If  you  tell  me  just  what 
you  do  in  such  cases,  I  will  tell  you  whether 
you  are  honest  or  not.  If  you  cheat  in 
play,  you  are  dishonest ;  if  you  will  not 
cheat  in  play,  you  are  honest,  and  we  can 
trust  you.  Here  is  another  test,  and  how 
do  you  stand  it? 

4.  Fourth  test.  If  you  were  to  be  far 
from  home  and  without  money,  and  if  some 
one  should  give  you  money  to  go  home  with, 
and  so  help  you  out  of  your  trouble,  would 
you  go  to  work,  earn  money,  and  return  what 
had  been  given  you  to  help  you  home  ? 
Would  you  thank  the  man  for  his  kindness 
in  aiding  you  ?  Would  you  do  as  the  little 
boy  did  whose  letter  I  read  in  the  Sunday- 
school  last  Sunday  ?  That  boy  had  no 
father  or  mother  living.  He  was  in  this 
city  without  money  and  far  from  friends. 
A  hotel-keeper  cared  for  him  for  a  few 
days,  and  then  gave  him  two  dollars  to  take 
him  back  to  his  former  home.  The  little 
fellow  said  he  would  send  the  money  back, 
and  he  did  send  it  in  a  registered  letter, 
and  this  is  what  he  wrote  —  without  the 
name  of  the  man  and  of  the  boy :  — 


BE  HONEST.  2  I  T 

Brockville,  Ont.,  August  lo,  1885. 
Well,  Mr.  P ,  I  suppose  you  are  get- 
ting out  of  patience,  waiting  for  the  two 
dollars.  I  started  to  work  the  second  day 
that  I  came  back.  I  am  very  much  obliged 
to  you  for  the  two  dollars.  I  do  not  know 
how  I  would  have  got  home  only  for  you. 
Answer  by   postal,    if    you    get    my   letter. 

w.  s.  c. 

That  was  an  honest  boy.  The  world  needs 
such  boys  —  boys  that  are  honest  every  time 
—  that  it  may  have  honest  men.  Dishonest 
boys  do  not  make  honest  men,  unless  they 
quit  their  cheating  and  dishonest  tricks  and 
learn  to  be  honest  in  every  thing.  Hence, 
if  you  cheat,  quit  it  ;  if  you  are  dishonest, 
be  honest  in  all  you  say  and  do. 

We  might  give  other  tests  of  honesty,  but 
these  are  all  you  will  remember  to-day. 

First,  if  any  one  over-pays  you,  be  honest 
and  return  the  money. 

Second,  do  not  hide  from  your  mother 
what  she  ought  to  know.  Be  honest  in 
telling    her  all. 

Third,  do  not  cheat  in  play,  not  even  to 
win    the   game. 


212  SERMONS  FOR    CHILDREN. 

Fourth,  pay  back  what  money  may  be 
given  you  to  help  you  out  of  trouble.  Pay 
your  debts  always. 

With  these  tests  before  you,  if  I  should 
call  for  an  honest  boy  or  girl,  how  many 
of  you  would  step  out  and  say:  "  I  am 
honest "  ? 


XLIII. 
HONESTY  THE   BEST  POLICY. 

So  that  men  shall  say,  Verily  there  is  a  reward  for  the  righteous.  — ■ 
Ps.  58:   II. 

The  righteous  are  they  who  do  what  is 
right.  A  reward  is  that  which  is  given  in 
return  for  good  conduct.  God  will  deal 
with  men  "  so  that  men  shall  say,  Verily 
there  is  a  reward  for  the  righteous :  Verily 
there  is  a  God  that  judgeth  in  the  earth." 
This  means  that  God  rewards  the  righteous 
and  punishes  the  wicked.  To  be  honest  is 
to  be  so  far  forth  righteous,  and  so  God 
rewards  those  that  are  honest. 

In  the  sermon  last  week  we  urged  you  to 
be  honest.  Do  you  remember  the  points  ? 
What,  have  you  forgotten  them  so  soon  ? 
Well,  we  will  repeat  them,  and  let  no  one 
forget  them.  I  gave  you  four  tests  of  hon- 
esty :  ( I )  The  test  of  giving  back  what  you 
have  been  over-paid  ;  (2)  The  test  of  telling 
your  mother  all  the  wrong  things  you  do ; 
(3)   The  test  of  not  cheating   in  play;    and 

213 


214  SERMONS  FOR    CHILDREN. 

(4)  The  test  of  paying  back  what  is  loaned 
you.  We  did  not  say  all  we  wanted  to  say 
in  that  sermon,  and  so  we  add  to  it  another 
on  honesty. 

I.  It  pays  to  be  honest  with  others.  They 
will  soon  find  out  whether  you  are  honest  or 
not.  If  you  are  honest,  they  will  trust  you  ; 
if  you  are  not  honest,  they  will  not  trust  you. 
Let  us  see  how  it  works.  If  you  have  apples 
or  pears  or  potatoes  to  sell,  and  put  all  the 
large,  good  ones  on  the  top,  and  all  the  small, 
worm-eaten  ones  at  the  bottom  of  the  bag  or 
barrel,  you  show  therein  a  desire  to  cheat  the 
buyer,  and  may  cheat  him,  but  he  finds  you 
out  and  will  not  trust  you  again.  You  have 
gained  nothing  but  a  little  money  perhaps. 
You  have  told  others  that  you  would  cheat 
them  if  you  could  ;  and  that  is  a  great  loss. 
Every  body  will  soon  hear  of  it.  But  if  you 
make  the  top  and  middle  and  bottom  of  the 
bag  or  barrel  the  same,  and  sell  the  fruit  for 
what  it  is,  you  are  honest ;  men  will  see  that 
you  are  honest ;  they  will  call  you  an  honest 
man,  they  will  trust  you,  and  honor  you  as 
honest. 

It  is  so  with  every  thing  we  do.  If  we 
give  full  measure,  and  make  top  and  bottom 


HONESTY  THE  BEST  POLICY.  215 

and  middle  alike,  we  act  as  we  ought  to  act. 
We  do  as  we  would  be  done  by.  This  is  the 
way  to  do,  and  if  you  always  do  this  because 
it  is  right  and  honest  to  do  so,  God  will  bless 
you  so  that  men  will  say:  '*  Verily  there  is  a 
reward  for  the  honest."  Every  body  likes  to 
trade  with  the  honest. 

If  you  have  work  to  do,  do  it  honestly. 
Whatever  you  do,  do  it  as  it  ought  to  be 
done.  Of  course  as  children  you  can  not 
wash  dishes,  set  the  table,  sweep,  sew,  or  do 
any  thing  as  well  as  your  parents,  or  as  others 
who  are  older  and  stronger  than  you  ;  but 
you  can  do  the  best  you  know  how,  and 
grow  up  to  do  every  thing  well.  If  you  see 
where  you  can  slight  the  work,  do  not  slight 
it  or  cheat  in  it.  If  you  do  slight  it  or  cheat 
in  it,  it  will  not  be  good  for  you  ;  for  others 
will  find  it  out.  They  will  not  want  you  or 
trust  you.  They  will  send  for  the  honest 
boy  or  girl,  the  one  who  will  not  cheat  them. 
So  the  honest  boys  will  get  places  while  you 
do  not,  and  the  honest  girls  will  get  work 
while  you  do  not ;  for  men  and  women  want 
honest  help.  No  one  wants  to  hire  a  cheat. 
Hence,  do  your  work  well,  whatever  it  Is, 
that  which   is  out  of  sight  as  well  as  that 


2l6  SERMONS  FOR    CHILDREN. 

which  is  in  sight.  Then  people  will  know 
that  you  are  honest,  and  they  will  honor  you 
and  employ  you.  You  will  have  more  money. 
God  will  reward  you  for  your  honesty. 

2.  It  pays  to  be  honest  with  yourself.  It 
is  a  good  thing  to  live  so  as  to  have  the 
respect  of  others,  but  it  is  a  better  thing  to 
live  so  as  to  have  the  respect  of  one's  own 
conscience.  Christ  and  many  of  his  true 
followers  have  been  persecuted  unto  death 
because  they  did  what  God  required  and  what 
their  own  consciences  approved.  ''  Blessed 
are  they  which  are  persecuted  for  righteous- 
ness' sake :  for  theirs  is  the  kingdom  of 
heaven." 

Each  one  has  a  conscience.  It  tells  him 
to  do  what  is  right,  and  riot  do  what  is 
wrong.  It  makes  him  feel  glad  when  he 
does  right,  but  sorry  and  guilty  and  ashamed 
when  he  does  wrong.  We  blame  ourselves 
for  all  the  wrong  we  do.  We  do  not  have 
respect  for  ourselves  because  of  our  guilt. 
We  hate  ourselves,  and  say  we  will  never  do 
so  again.  If  we  put  dust  into  our  eyes  it 
will  give  us  pain.  If  we  do  wrong,  our  con- 
science will  pain  us.  Hence,  we  do  not  tell 
what  we  have  done,  when   asked  about  it. 


HONES 7  V   THE  BEST  POLICY. 


217 


Our  hearts  are  guilty.  We  are  ashamed  of 
ourselves.  We  are  very  unhappy,  when  feel- 
ing so.  But  if  we  do  what  is  right  and 
honest,  our  hearts  are  glad  and  light.  We 
do  not  feel  ashamed.  We  do  not  hide  or 
refuse  to  tell.  We  do  not  blame  ourselves 
or  feel  guilty.  We  are  happy  —  as  happy  as 
happy  can  be.  It  pays  then  to  be  honest 
with  ourselves,  and  do  what  is  good  and 
right  always. 

3.  It  pays  to  be  honest  with  God.  We 
should  tell  him  all  in  prayer ;  for  he  knows 
it  all.  We  can  not  hide  from  God  or  cheat 
him.  He  has  no  respect  for  one  who  tries 
to  cheat  him. 

Those  that  do  right  God  blesses  with  the 
confidence  a^hd  good-will  of  others,  with 
peace  of  conscience,  and  with  the  reward 
of  his  favor,  which  includes  heaven.  If  we 
are  honest,  he  will  give  us  a  great  reward, 
more  than  we  can  ask  or  think.  If  we  are 
not  honest,  he  will  punish  us. 

It  pays  then  to  be  honest.  Honesty  is  the 
best  policy.  Be  honest,  therefore,  in  every 
thing,  in  play,  in  work,  in  life.  Be  honest 
with  others ;  be  honest  with  yourself ;  be 
honest  with  God.     By  cheating  others,  you 


2l8  SERMONS  FOR    CHILDREN. 

cheat  yourself.  A  poet  says  :  "  An  honest 
man 's  the  noblest  work  of  God."  We  can 
all  be  honest,  and  obtain  the  reward  of  the 
righteous,  and  so  become  the  noblest  work 
of  God. 


XLIV. 
PLAYING   FOR   KEEPS. 

Abstain  from  every  form  of  evil.  —  i  Thess.  5 :  22. 

There  are  a  great  many  evil  things  in  the 
world.  Some  of  them  are  evil  to  start  with, 
evil  at  the  first,  and  evil  all  the  time  after- 
ward, evil  in  every  form  and  degree.  Other 
things  do  not  appear  to  be  evil  at  the  first, 
but  they  lead  to  evil,  and  should  be  avoided 
for  that  reason. 

I  want  to  say  a  few  words  to  you,  boys, 
about  playing  marbles,  and  about  playing  for 
keeps,  as  you  say. 

1.  You  can  play  marbles  without  playing 
for  keeps.  This  you  know  very  well.  You 
can  be  the  best  player  without  playing  for 
keeps.  There  is  no  need  then  of  playing  in 
that  way.  But,  you  cry,  what  harm  is  there 
in  it  ?     I  will  tell  you  — 

2.  The  harm  of  playing  for  keeps.  If 
playing  for  keeps  means  that  you  were  to 
keep  the  marbles  you  might  win  until  the 
play  was  ended,  or  for  a  little  while  only, 

219 


220  SERMONS  FOR    CHILDREN. 

there  would  be  no  harm,  for  you  would  not 
gain  any  thing  by  it.  The  marbles  would  not 
be  yours.  But  playing  for  keeps  is  not  this. 
It  is,  instead,  the  keeping  of  the  marbles  won 
in  the  game  as  your  own.  You  play  to  win 
them,  and  so  to  keep  them. 

Playing  for  keeps  is,  therefore,  gambling. 
It  is  playing  for  a  stake.  It  is  the  same  as 
to  bet  on  the  game  the  marbles  you  are  play- 
ing with.  It  is  wrong  to  gamble,  so  wrong 
that  the  state  law  forbids  it.  Hear  what  the 
law  says  about  gambling  :  — 

*'  If  any  person  by  playing  at  cards,  dice, 
or  any  other  game,  or  by  betting  or  putting 
up  money  on  cards,  or  by  any  other  means 
or  device  in  the  nature  of  betting  on  cards, 
or  betting  of  any  kind,  shall  win  or  obtain 
any  sum  of  money,  or  any  goods,  or  any 
article  of  value  whatever,  such  person  shall 
be  guilty  of  a  misdemeanor ;  and  may,  on 
conviction,  be  punished." 

This  covers  all  kinds  of  betting  and  gam- 
bling, any  kind  of  play  by  which  a  valuable 
thing  is  won  as  a  stake.  That  is,  if  you  put 
up  a  cent  on  a  game  of  marbles  which  the 
winner  of  the  game  shall  have  as  his  own, 
you  gamble.     So,  too,  if  you  put  up  a  cent's 


PLAYING  FOR  KEEPS.  22  1 

worth  of  marbles  on  the  game,  or  a  half- 
cent's  worth,  you  gamble.  Now  when  you 
play  for  keeps  you  do  this  very  thing,  and  so 
you  gamble.  The  harm  is  the  harm  of  gam- 
bling, which  the  law  of  the  state  forbids. 

3.  It  is  wrong  to  gamble.  It  is  wrong  for 
players  in  any  game  to  bet  on  it,  or  to  put 
up  money  on  it,  or  to  play  for  keeps  in  it. 
You  ought  not  to  do  any  thing  wrong.  But, 
you  say,  oh,  it  is  so  little  I  need  not  mind 
it!  That  is  just  why  you  should  mind  it. 
We  warn  you  against  gambling  in  little 
things,  in  your  plays,  because  little  sins  grow 
to  great  sins.  If  you  are  careful  to  shun  the 
little  sins,  you  will  not  be  overcome  by  a 
great  sin.  If  you  were  to  go  about  stealing 
all  the  pins  you  could  find,  every  one  would 
say  that  we  should  have  to  look  out  or  you 
would  steal  our  money.  So  if  you  learn  to 
gamble  in  playing  marbles,  we  fear  you  will 
gamble  in  larger  things.  If  you  play  for 
keeps,  you  will   play  for  dollars  by-and-by. 

*'  Oh,  we  will  stop  before  we  do  that !  "  you 
cry.  Well,  we  hope  so ;  but  if  you  stop 
now,  we  shall  be  sure  of  it.  And  that  is  why 
we  want  you  to  stop  now,  and  never  play  for 
keeps  again. 


2  22  SERMONS  FOR    CHILDREN. 

4.  Play  to  win  the  game  honestly,  and 
that  is  enough.  We  want  you  to  play,  and 
to  play  well ;  for  you  ought  to  do  well  what- 
ever you  do,  whether  it  be  work,  or  study,  or 
play,  or  rest.  But  to  win  the  game  is  enough 
to  incite  you.  There  is  no  need  of  adding 
to  it  the  hope  of  winning  marbles  or  any 
thing  else  in  a  gambling  game.  You  can 
get  all  the  good,  all  the  fun,  out  of  the  game 
without  the  evil,  the  harm,  the  gambling. 

Our  text  tells  you  to  abstain  from  every 
form  of  evil,  that  is,  from  playing  marbles 
for  keeps,  as  one  evil ;  and  from  every  other 
form  of  evil.  This  is  God's  word,  and  do 
not  disobey  it,  but  keep  it ;  for  in  keeping  it 
there  is  great  reward. 

The  boy  makes  the  man,  and  so  I  want  to 
make  the  boy  what  the  man  ought  to  be.  I 
want  him  to  shun  all  evil  things,  to  choose 
all  good  things  ;  but  I  can  not  make  the  boy 
into  a  good  man  without  his  help.  Help 
me  then,  and  I  will  help  you  to  abstain  from 
every  form  of  evil. 


XLV. 
MINE   AND   THINE;    OR,    STEALING. 

Thou  shalt  not  steal.  —  Ex.  20:  15. 

This  is  a  short  command,  and  should  be 
learned  by  heart  by  every  boy  and  girl.  In- 
deed, they  ought  to  learn  all  the  Ten  Com- 
mandments by  heart,  that  they  may  obey 
them. 

The  text  teaches  you  to  regard  the  rights 
of  others  in  property,  in  things  owned.  It 
marks  the  difference  between  mine  and  thine. 
Each  one  can  say  of  some  things :  "  These 
are  mine;"  but  of  others  he  must  say: 
''Those  are  not  mine."  You  can,  and  do, 
say  sometimes  :  "  This  is  mine  and  not  yours  ; 
but  that  is  yours  and  not  mine."  You  have 
clothes,  and  shoes,  and  books,  and  dolls,  and 
playthings  which  you  call  your  own,  though 
your  father  or  mother  bought  or  made  them 
for  you.  They  are  yours,  and  not  your 
sister's  or  your  brother's,  and  you  know  it. 
But  your  brother  or  sister  has  other  things, 
which  he  or  she  owns,  and  you  do  not.    This 

323 


224 


SERMONS  FOR    CHILDREN. 


you  understand.  You  know  your  own  hats 
or  caps,  your  shoes,  your  dresses,  your  play- 
things. They  are  your  property.  You  have 
a  first  right  to  them.  No  one  but  your  par- 
ents has  a  right  to  take  them  away  from 
you. 

Now  the  text  refers  to  this  right  of  prop- 
erty, and  says  :  "  Thou  shalt  not  steal."  Did 
you  ever  think  that  these  words  apply  to  you, 
children  ?  Yet  they  do  ;  for  in  your  plays 
you  may  learn  to  steal  or  learn  not  to  steal. 
Do  you  ask  me,  "  How  so  ?  "  I  will  tell  you. 
As  you  deal  with  your  brother  or  sister,  so 
will  you  deal  with  others,  even  when  you 
grow  up  to  be  men  and  women.  It  is  be- 
cause of  this  that  I  speak  to  you  about  steal- 
ing. Your  teacher  gives  you  a  book.  It  is 
yours.  You  own  it.  But  your  brother  wants 
it,  and  so  he  goes  and  gets  it,  and  hides  it. 
He  steals  it.  He  Is  learning  to  steal.  Had 
he  any  right  to  your  book?  None  at  all. 
Have  you,  then,  any  right  to  take  and  use 
any  thing  that  belongs  to  your  sister  or 
brother  without  the  consent  of  the  one  who 
owns  It  ?  No  ;  you  can  use  your  own  as  you 
please,  if  you  do  not  injure  them  ;  but  you 
should  not  think  of  taking  and  using  another's 


MINE  AND    THINE;    OR,  STEALING. 


225 


things  without  consent.  If  you  want  to  see 
or  use  them,  ask  for  them  in  a  kind  way. 
Do  not  snatch  them,  nor  say:  "Give  them 
to  me  !  "  You  should  say,  instead  :  ''  Please 
may  I  take  them  ?  " 

Of  course  each  one  in  a  family  ought  to 
love  the  rest  so  that  he  will  be  glad  to  have 
them  take,  examine,  and  use  his  playthings, 
and  not  be  selfish  about  it ;  but  there  ought 
to  be  in  every  home,  among  the  children,  a 
difference  between  mine  and  thine,  what  one 
child  owns  or  claims  as  his,  and  what  another 
owns  or  claims  as  his,  and  this  difference  or 
distinction   should    be   enforced    by  parents. 
One  child  should  be  made  to  treat  the  rights 
of  another  with  respect.      For,  if  a  boy  be 
allowed  to  eat  what  belongs  to  his  brother  or 
sister,  and  to  use  their  things  as  though  they 
were  his  own,  he  will  be   likely  to   do   the 
same  to  other  boys,  and,  because  he  was  not 
trained  better,  may  grow  up  a  thief.      But  if 
a  boy  or  girl    treats   a  brother's   or  sister's 
things  as  he  or  she  should,  not  taking  and 
using  them  without  leave,  neither  will  grow 
up  a  thief.     They  will  not  steal  even  a  pin. 
The  first  way,  then,  to  obey  the  text  is,  not 
to  steal  from  brothers  and  sisters,  from  father 


2  26  SERMONS  FOR    CHILDREN, 

or  mother,  or  from  playmates.  And  I  hope 
your  parents  will  see  to  it  that  you  do  not 
take  without  leave  any  thing  which  does  not 
belong  to  you. 

The  next  way  to  obey  the  text  is  to  treat 
the  property  of  others  as  you  do  the  play- 
things of  others.  You  should  never  pick 
fruit  from  trees  growing  on  your  father's 
place  without  his  permission ;  but  to  rob 
fruit  trees  which  your  father  does  not  own, 
what  shall  I  say  of  it?  It  is  stealing.  It  is 
breaking  the  command:  "Thou  shalt  not 
steal,"  which  God  himself  gave.  The  fruit 
Is  not  yours.  You  have  no  right  to  take  it. 
You  sin  against  God  by  taking  it.  Never 
touch  what  does  not  belong  to  you.  If  you 
do  rob  the  trees  or  the  vines,  you  are  a  thief. 

Do  you  say  that  you  took  only  a  little  ? 
Yet  stealing  a  little  is  stealing.  Stealing  a 
cent  is  as  truly  stealing  as  the  stealing  of  a 
dollar.  To  steal  a  cent's  worth  of  fruit  or 
a  dollar's  worth  is  as  wicked  as  to  steal  a 
cent  or  a  dollar  from  a  man's  pocket.  If  you 
grow  up  robbing  vines  and  trees  and  or- 
chards, where  will  you  stop  ?  Who  would 
have  you  in  their  store  or  office  or  shop  or 
farm?     Who  would  trust  you  in  any  thing? 


MINE  AND    THINE;    OR,  STEALING.         2  2  "J 

A  child  who  does  not  mind  the  difference 
between  mine  and  thine,  what  is  his  and 
what  is  not  his,  in  httle  things,  will  not  be 
likely  to  mind  it  in  great  things.  He  grows 
up  to  take  all  he  can  get  from  others  without 
punishment,  and  it  is  but  a  little  step  to  a 
life  of  stealing  and  robbery.  Do  not  begin 
to  take  that  sad  step. 

Do  you  say  that  you  like  strawberries, 
grapes,  pears,  peaches,  and  apples  ?  But 
that  is  no  reason  why  you  should  steal  them. 
If  any  body  could  steal  whatever  he  liked,  no 
one  could  own  any  thing  that  another  wanted. 
If  you  think  it  right  to  steal  because  you  like 
it,  then  another  could  for  the  same  reason 
steal  your  best  doll  or  your  cap  or  any  thing 
else  you  have.  No,  there  is  only  one  law 
of  God,  and  that  is  the  text:  *'Thou  shalt 
not  steal."  Obey  that,  and  you  are  safe ; 
but  if  you  begin  to  break  that  law  by  stealing 
sugar  or  candy  or  fruit  or  any  thing  else,  you 
may  become  a  thief  of  larger  things,  and  be 
sent  to  prison  for  it. 

Let  me  repeat : 

1.  Do  not  steal  from  your  parents,  sugar, 
cake,  fruit,  money,  or  any  thing  else. 

2.  Do    not    steal    from    your   brothers    or 


2  28  SERMONS  FOR    CHILDREN. 

sisters,  their  books,  playthings,  or  any  thing 
else. 

3.  Do  not  steal  from  your  playmates,  mar- 
bles, pencils,  or  any  thing  else  you  may  want. 

4.  Do  not  steal  from  your  neighbors,  fruit, 
melons,  eggs,  or  any  thing  else. 

5.  Do  not  steal  from  any  body  any  thing 
whatever;  for  God  says:  ''Thou  shalt  not 
steal." 

While  you  are  thinking  of  these  five  things, 
let  me  say  a  word  to  parents,  and  ask  them 
to  train  you  carefully  to  know  and  to  respect 
the  difference  between  mine  and  thine,  what 
is  your  own  and  what  is  not  your  own.  Chil- 
dren learn  it  very  young  and  will  stand  up 
for  their  own,  will  quarrel  and  fight  for  it. 
Hence  parents  can  use  these  times  to  teach 
one  of  the  most  important  lessons  of  life, 
namely,  the  distinction  between  mine  and 
thine.  The  neglect  of  this  distinction  and 
training  may  ruin  your  dear  children.  En- 
force it  rigidly. 


XLVI. 
PROFANE     SWEARING. 

But  I  say  unto  you,  Swear  not  at  all  —  Matt.  5:   34. 

There  is  one  very  common  sin  among 
boys  and  men  :  it  is  profane  swearing.  We 
say  profane  swearing  because  there  is  a  kind 
of  swearing  that  is  not  profane,  as  when 
one  takes  an  oath  in  a  court,  and  when  it 
is  said:  "For  when  God  made  promise  to 
Abraham,  since  he  could  swear  by  none 
greater,  he  swore  by  himself."  Here  God 
is  spoken  of  as  taking  an  oath  to  do  a  thing. 
The  same  is  said  in  many  other  verses  of  the 
Bible.  This  kind  of  swearing  is  not  profane 
but  religious  swearing. 

If  you  should  be  called  as  a  witness  before 
a  judge,  that  judge  would  put  you  under 
oath,  in  which  you  would  appeal  unto  God 
to  witness  that  you  will  tell  the  truth,  the 
whole  truth,  and  nothing  but  the  truth. 
Jesus  Christ  took  such  an  oath  as  this, 
when  the  high  priest  said  unto  him  :  ''I 
adjure    thee   by  the    living    God,    that    thou 


230  SERMOXS  FOR    CHILDREN'. 

tell  US  whether  thou  be  the  Christ,  the  Son 
of  God."  Jesus  saith  unto  him  :  ''  Thou  hast 
said."  Thus  Jesus,  under  oath,  said  that 
he  was  "  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  God."  Such 
oaths  are  not  sinful  or  wrong.  God  com- 
manded the  children  of  Israel  to  "  swear  by 
his  name  "  when  called  on  as  a  witness  in 
courts  of  justice. 

Profane  swearing  is  the  taking  of  God's 
name  In  vain,  or  Christ's  name  in  vain,  or 
the  name  of  some  sacred  thing  in  vain.  It 
is  the  irreligious  use  of  the  name  of  God, 
or  of  Christ,  or  of  sacred  things.     Now  :  — 

1.  Profane  swearing  is  a  sin.  It  is  a 
wicked  thlno^  to  take  Christ's  name  or 
God's  name  in  vain.  It  is  so  great  a  sin  that 
**  the  Lord  will  not  hold  him  guiltless  that 
taketh  his  name  in  vain." 

2.  Profane  swearing  is  a  common  sin. 
One  can  hardly  pass  by  a  crowd  of  boys, 
and  not  hear  a  profane  oath  or  swearing. 
If  your  parents  could  hear  all  you  say,  boys, 
as  God  does,  would  they  not  be  shocked 
at  the  words  you  utter  ?  You  do  not  talk  so 
when  your  father  or  mother  is  near  to  hear 
you.  Oh,  no  ;  you  do  not  want  them  to  hear 
you    swear.      Shame    that   you    should   talk 


PROFANE   SWEARING. 


231 


SO  that  you  do  not  want  your  parents  to 
hear  you  !  Yet  God  hears  every  oath,  every 
word  you  speak.  You  can  not  hide  from 
him. 

3.  Profane  swearing  is  fooHsh.  If  a  boy 
swears,  he  gets  nothing  for  it ;  it  does  him 
no  good.  It  is  wrong  to  steal,  but  if  one 
steal  an  apple,  he  has  the  apple  to  eat ;  but 
if  he  swear,  he  has  nothing  to  show  for  it. 
If  you  throw  a  hook  into  the  river  or  lake 
for  fish,  you  put  a  bait  on  it  ;  for  fish  are 
not  so  foolish  as  to  bite  a  bare  hook.  But 
he  who  swears  bites  a  bare  hook  ;  he  gets 
nothing  in  return  for  his  sin,  and  sin  hurts 
like  a  hook.  No  one  will  believe  him  any 
sooner  for  his  oaths  ;  for  if  he  is  not  afraid 
to  take  God's  name  in  vain,  will  he  be  afraid 
to  tell  a  lie  ?  This  sin  is  the  most  foolish 
of  all  sins,  for  it  brings  only  the  pangs  of 
a  guilty  conscience.  All  sin  is  foolish,  but 
this    is    the  most  foolish. 

4.  Profane  swearing  is  forbidden.  It  is 
so  great,  so  common,  and  so  foolish  a  sin, 
that  God  says  in  the  third  commandment: 
''Thou  shalt  not  take  the  name  of  the  Lord 
thy  God  in  vain  ;  for  the  Lord  will  not  hold 
him  guiltless  that  taketh  his  name  in  vain." 


232 


SERMONS  FOR    CHILDREN. 


On  these  words  Jesus  said :  "  Swear  not 
at  all  ;  neither  by  the  heaven,  for  it  is  the 
throne  of  God  ;  nor  by  the  earth,  for  it  is 
the  footstool  of  his  feet ;  nor  by  Jerusalem, 
for  it  is  the  city  of  the  great  King.  Neither 
shalt  thou  swear  by  thy  head,  for  thou  canst 
not  make  one  hair  white  or  black.  But  let 
your  speech  be.  Yea,  yea  ;  Nay,  nay :  and 
whatsoever  is  more  than  these  is  of  the  evil 
one."  If  we  are  forbidden  to  swear  by 
these  things,  how  much  more  are  we  for- 
bidden to  swear  by  God,  or  Christ !  Swear 
not  at  all,  except  when  put  under  oath  ;  for 
Christ  referred  in  the  text  to  the  taking  of 
God's  name,  and  the  name  of  any  thing,  in 
vain. 

5.  Profane  swearing  will  not  make  a  man 
of  you.  It  is  a  sin,  a  foolish  sin  ;  and  though 
men  swear,  yet  swearing  does  not  make 
men  of  them,  or  brave  men,  or  noble  men, 
or  men  to  be  trusted.  He  who  refuses  to 
swear  when  others  do  is  the  brave  boy  or 
man.  He  is  the  hero,  who  will  not  take 
God's  name  in  vain.  To  be  the  best  man 
is  to  be  the  nearest  Him  who  knew  no  sin. 
Be  like  Jesus,  and  never  take  God's  name 
in  vain. 


PROFANE   SWEARING.  233 

Tell  the  truth  always,  and  stick  to  it ;  if 
one  tell  you  that  he  does  not  believe  you, 
do  you  think  you  can  make  him  believe 
you  by  swearing  wicked  oaths  ?  No  ; 
every  oath  you  utter  in  vain  shows  that 
you  will  sin  and  break  God's  command- 
ments ;  and  if  one  commandment,  why  not 
another  ?  If  one  may  swear,  he  may  also 
lie.  It  is  better  to  say,  if  your  word  is  ques- 
tioned :  ''  I  tell  you  the  exact  truth ;  and 
nothing    can   make  me  change  it." 

God  commands  you  to  stop  swearing,  to 
stop  taking  his  name  in  vain  ;  to  say.  Yes, 
yes  ;  No,  no.  If  you  are  tempted  to  go 
beyond  these  and  say  profane  words,  it  is  a 
temptation  of  the  evil  one.  It  is  a  great  sin 
to  swear.  Let  not  God  hear  another  oath 
from  your  lips.     "Swear  not  at  all/' 


XLVII. 
TELLING  LIES. 

Lie  not  one  to  another.  —  Col.  3:  9. 

Children,  you  are  often  tempted  to  tell 
lies,  to  say  what  is  not  true,  and  so  I  am 
going  to  preach  to  you  against  lying.  I  want 
you  to  be  truthful,  and  not  liars  ;  so  truthful 
that  when  you  say  a  thing  is  so,  all  will  know 
it  is  just  as  you  say.  If  you  forget  and  do 
wrong,  and  your  mother  asks  you  about  it, 
you  are  tempted  to  tell  a  lie  about  it,  but  I 
warn  you  never  to  tell  a  lie. 

I .  What  is  a  lie  ?  Perhaps  you  can  tell 
me.  You  played  keeping  school  with  your 
dolls  the  other  day.  Some  of  the  dolls  be- 
haved so  badly  that  you  had  to  punish  them. 
You  told  others  to  study  and  get  their  les- 
sons. Then  you  gave  out  words  for  them  to 
spell,  and  so  you  kept  school  with  your  dolls. 
You  treated  them  as  if  they  could  hear  and 
see  and  talk  and  obey,  when  they  could  not 
do  one  of  these  things.  Was  that  lying  ?  In 
trying  to  teach  them,  did  you  tell  lies?    *'  Oh, 

234 


TELLING  LIES. 


235 


no,"  you  say,  ''  that  was  not  lying,  for  I  was 
playing.  All  I  said  and  did  was  in  play.  I 
did  not  tell  a  lie,  for  I  did  not  mean  to  say 
any  thing  wrong.  I  did  not  mean  it."  Your 
answer  is  right.  You  did  not  tell  lies  in 
your  play  of  keeping  school.  You  did  not 
lie  in  what  you  said  and  did,  because  it  was 
in  play  and  no  one  was  deceived  by  it. 

If  some  one  tells  you  that  John  Black's 
house  is  burned  up,  and  you  run  in  and  tell 
your  mother  so,  but  it  turns  out  that  his 
house  was  not  burned,  did  you  tell  your 
mother  a  lie  ?  You  told  her  what  was  not 
true ;  for  you  said  the  house  was  burned 
when  it  was  not ;  now  was  that  untruth  a 
lie?  ''Well,"  you  say,  "I  thought  it  was 
burned,  for  the  man  said  so  ;  and  I  did  not 
mean  to  say  what  was  not  true  and  deceive 
mother ;  and  if  I  did  not  mean  to  deceive 
her,  I  do  not  think  it  ought  to  be  called 
lying."  You  are  right  again.  If  you  think 
a  thing  to  be  true  when  it  is  not,  and  tell  it, 
you  do  not  tell  a  lie,  for  you  do  not  intend 
to  deceive  any  one.  That  is  not  what  we 
mean  by  lying. 

Here  is  a  boy  who  has  been  looking  In  a 
picture-book  of  horses  and  bears  and  lions. 


236  SERMONS  FOR    CHILDREN. 

He  then  runs  out  to  play.  Pretty  soon  he 
rushes  In,  and  cries :  *' There  is  a  bear  in  the 
yard,  I  saw  him !  "  "  Oh,  no,  my  child,  there 
is  no  bear  there."  "  Yes,  there  is,  I  saw  it!" 
And  the  mother  can  not  make  her  boy  say 
otherwise,  and  perhaps  she  punishes  him  for 
telling  a  lie  about  seeing  a  bear  where  there 
is  none.  Did  her  boy  lie  ?  Now  you  are 
puzzled,  you  can  not  answer.  Let  me  answer. 
The  boy  is  so  young  that  he  does  not  always 
know  the  difference  between  what  he  sees 
with  his  eyes  and  what  he  sees  with  his  mind, 
or  Imagines  ;  and  so  when  the  picture  of  the 
bear  in  the  book  comes  to  his  mind  in  play, 
he  thinks  he  sees  a  real  bear,  and  can  not  be 
made  to  think  otherwise.  Hence,  when  this 
is  the  case,  he  does  not  lie,  but  tells  what  he 
believes  to  be  true. 

This  may  explain  to  mothers  what  has 
greatly  troubled  them  about  their  bright  chil- 
dren ;  and  it  may  explain  to  all  what  has 
troubled  them  about  some  good  people,  who 
imagine  so  much  more  than  the  real  facts 
that  they  are  always  seeing  bears  In  the 
wood-pile. 

But  we  have  not  found  out  what  a  lie  is. 
If  one  of  you  should  steal  some  sugar,  and 


TELLING  LIES. 


^2>7 


your  mother  should  ask  you  about  it,  and 
you  should  deny  it,  and  say  that  you  did  not 
take  any,  would  that  be  lying  ?  Yes,  that  is 
lying,  and  all  such  like  things  are  lying.  To 
tell  your  mother  or  teacher  or  any  one  that 
you  have  not  done  what  you  have  done,  is  to 
deceive  them  and  lie  to  them.  There  must 
be  in  all  lying  the  intent  to  deceive  some 
one  who  has  a  right  to  know  the  truth,  the 
purpose  to  tell  an  untruth,  or  what  is  believed 
to  be  an  untruth,  for  the  sake  of  deception. 
The  very  heart  of  lying  is  this  intent  or  pur- 
pose to  deceive.     Such  is  lying. 

2.  Why  may  we  not  tell  lies  ?  Because  it 
is  wrong  to  lie,  and  right  to  tell  the  truth. 
Hence  God  says  in  the  text :  ''  Lie  not  one 
to  another,"  and  the  sin  of  lying  is  every- 
where forbidden  in  the  Bible.  We  are  told 
to  put  away  lying  and  to  speak  the  truth.  It 
is  a  sin  to  lie,  a  sin  against  God.  Hence 
God  says :  "Ye  shall  not  steal,  neither  deal 
falsely,  neither  lie  one  to  another."  ''  Keep 
thy  tongue  from  evil,  and  thy  lips  from  speak- 
ing guile."  God  hates  a  lying  tongue.  There 
are  many  more  texts  against  lying,  which  I 
hope  you  will  find  and  read  when  you  go 
home ;   for  lying  is  so  great  a  sin  that   you 


238  SERMONS  FOR    CHILDREN. 

should  study  the  Bible  lest  you  commit  it. 
Those  who  make  and  love  lies  are  not  per- 
mitted to  enter  heaven.  A  boy  or  girl,  man 
or  woman,  that  no  one  can  believe,  how  sad ! 
Is  there  such  a  boy  or  girl  here  ?  Tell  the 
truth  always  :  and  again  I  say,  tell  the  truth. 

Again,  we  may  not  tell  lies  because  God 
punishes  liars  and  rewards  the  truthful.  He 
says:  "The  lip  of  truth  shall  be  established 
for  ever:  but  a  lying  tongue  is  but  for  a  mo- 
ment." ''  Lying  lips  are  abomination  to  the 
Lord  :  but  they  that  deal  truly  are  his  de- 
light." ''  He  that  speaketh  lies  shall  not 
escape."  "All  liars  shall  have  their  part  in 
the  lake  which  burneth  with  fire  and  brim- 
stone :  which  is  the  second  death."  Thus 
God  punishes  liars,  and  blesses  the  truthful. 

Be  truthful  always.  When  you  give  your 
word  let  it  be  a  true  word,  and  then  stand  by 
it,  even  if  it  costs  you  every  thing.  All  men 
honor  a  truthful  boy  or  girl,  man  or  woman, 
but  no  one  respects  a  liar.  To  be  a  liar,  a 
false  boy  or  girl,  one  that  nobody  believes, 
what  a  disgrace !  But  to  be  truthful,  one 
that  every  body  believes,  what  an  honor! 
Strive  for  the  honor.     Shun  the  disgrace. 


XLVIII. 
LITTLE  TRUANTS. 

And  he  answered  and  said,  I  go,  sir:  and  went  not,  —  Matt.  21:  30. 

Does  this  sound  familiar  to  some  of  you  ? 
Then  I  need  to  preach  a  sermon  on  it ;  for 
you  are  the  boys  and  girls  who  say,  and  do 
not. 

A  father  ''  had  two  sons ;  and  he  came  to 
the  first,  and  said.  Son,  go  work  to-day  in 
the  vineyard.  And  he  answered  and  said, 
I  will  not  ;  but  afterward  he  repented  him- 
self, and  went.  And  he  came  to  the  second, 
and  said  likewise.  And  he  answered  and 
said,  I  go,  sir :  and  went  not.  Whether  of 
the  twain  did  the  will  of  his  father  ?  " 

I.  The  wrong  answer  and  the  right  act  of 
the  first  son.  He  said:  "I  will  not,"  —  a 
very  saucy,  impudent,  wicked  answer ;  an 
answer  which  I  hope  no  one  of  you  ever 
gives  his  father  or  mother.  He  refused  to 
obey.  He  said  that  he  would  not  do  as  his 
father  commanded.  But  that  son  had  a  con- 
science ;  he  knew  that  he  had  done  wrong ; 


240  SERMONS  FOR    CHILDREN. 

he  was  sorry  for  what  he  had  said  to  his 
father ;  he  repented  of  it ;  and  when  he  was 
sorry  and  repented,  he  went  into  the  vine- 
yard to  work.  He  did  what  his  father  com- 
manded him  to  do,  after  saying  that  he  would 
not  do  it.  So  while  his  words  were  wrong 
his  act  was  right. 

2.  The  right  answer  and  the  wrong  act  of 
the  second  son.  He  said  that  he  would  do 
what  his  father  commanded  him  to  do :  but 
when  he  got  out  of  sight  of  his  father,  he  did 
not  go.  He  said  he  would  go,  but  he  went 
not;  he  said  he  would  do,  but  he  did  not. 
He  disobeyed  his  father  while  promising  to 
obey  him.     He  was  a  little  truant. 

3.  A  truant  is  one  who  stays  away  from 
business  or  duty ;  an  idler,  a  loiterer,  a 
shirk.  And  I  am  afraid  that  some  of  you 
are  truants.  You  stay  away  from  business, 
duty,  school.  Your  father  sends  you  out  to 
do  the  chores  or  some  work  ;  and  you  go 
until  you  are  out  of  his  sight,  then  you  play 
and  forget  the  work.  Is  it  not  so  ?  You 
say  :  ''  I  go,  sir;"  but  do  not  go.  Your  an- 
swer is  right,  but  your  act  is  wrong.  Both 
answer  and  act  should  be  right.  I  will  give 
you  a  good  rule  to  follow  :  Do  the  work  first, 


LITTLE    TRUANTS. 


241 


and  then  play ;  for  if  you  go  at  it  at  once, 
and  keep  at  it  until  it  is  done,  you  will  have 
time  to  play,  and  you  can  play  with  a  clear 
conscience.  That  is  the  best  way  to  do  in 
work  what  your  father  and  mother  tell  you 
to  do. 

But  many  of  you  go  to  school.  You  get 
ready  and  start  for  school  as  your  parents 
require.  You  say:  "  I  am  going  to  school ;  " 
and  your  parents  expect  you  to  go  straight 
there  and  not  be  tardy  or  to  stay  away  for 
play.  But  do  not  some  of  you  play  the 
truant?  When  you  are  out  of  sight,  do  you 
not  run  off  to  play  with  naughty  boys  ? 
Then  you  come  home  when  school  is  out 
as  though  you  had  been  at  school. 

Now  this  is  all  wrong.  It  is  deceiving 
your  parents ;  it  is  losing  your  schooling ;  it 
is  forming  bad  habits ;  it  is  acting  a  lie :  for 
you  say  you  are  going  to  school,  your  parents 
expect  you  are  in  school,  when  you  are  play- 
ing truant.  Let  no  one  play  the  truant.  It 
will  ruin  you. 

Let  me  say  a  word  to  your  parents  and  tell 
them  that  they  ought  to  know  whether  you 
are  in  school  or  have  turned  truant.  The 
roll  of  the  teacher  would  soon  tell  what  their 


242 


SERMONS  FOR    CHILDREN. 


children  are  doing.  Then  in  cities  the  tru- 
ant-officer should  arrest  truants,  and  so  make 
them  attend  school ;  for  it  is  a  great  evil  to 
be  a  truant. 

Do  you  ask  why  ?  The  reason  is  this : 
if  you  always  do  what  is  required  of  you 
promptly  and  well,  not  waiting  or  slighting 
it,  you  will  grow  up  to  be  true  and  faithful. 
Men  will  believe  and  trust  you.  They  will 
want  you  for  the  best  places  of  trust,  and 
you  will  get  on  in  the  world.  But  if  you  are 
little  truants  at  school  or  in  any  other  duty, 
you  grow  up  to  be  bad.  Nobody  will  trust 
you  or  believe  you  or  want  you  for  any  kind 
of  service.  You  will  not  be  fit  for  any  trust 
or  place.  You  will  have  a  hard  time  in  life. 
So  never  play  the  truant,  as  did  the  son  who 
said  :   "  I  go,  sir  ;  and  went  not." 

And  when  God  commands  you  to  do  any 
thing,  do  it  at  once.  When  he  says :  ''  My 
son,  give  me  thy  heart,"  or,  "  Go  work  to- 
day in  the  vineyard,"  do  as  he  says.  Do  not 
reply  :  "  I  will  not ;  "  do  not  answer  :  "  I  go," 
and  go  not ;  but  obey,  and  he  will  bless  you. 
He  will  put  you  in  good  places,  for  he  can 
trust  you  to  do  what  is  right.  But  if  you 
say:  "  I  go,"  and  then  go  not,  God  will  not 
bless  you. 


LITTLE    TRUANTS. 


243 


The  father  of  these  two  sons  found  out 
what  they  did.  So  God  knows  when  you 
play  the  truant  and  run  away  from  duty,  and 
by-and-by  he  will  have  an  examination  and 
all  your  truancy  will  come  out ;  every  time 
you  have  run  away  from  duty  will  be  called 
up,  and  what  will  you  then  say  ?  It  will  be  a 
sad  day  to  you  when  he  shall  tell  you  how 
wicked  you  have  been,  and  shall  cast  you 
out  from  heaven.  But  if  you  obey  him  when 
he  commands,  and  are  not  truants,  but  go 
and  work  in  the  vineyard,  God  will  make  you 
glad,  when  he  shall  call  you  into  judgment, 
by  giving  you  heaven  as  your  reward. 


XLIX. 

WORK   HONORABLE. 

If  any  will  not  work,  neither  let  him  eat,  —  2  Thess.  3 :  10. 

All  honest  work  is  honorable,  and  It  is  a 
duty  to  labor.  Perhaps  you  do  not  like  to 
have  me  say  this,  for  you  want  to  be  idle  ; 
but  I  must  tell  you  what  is  best  for  you,  even 
if  you  do  not  like  it.  It  is  right  to  play  at 
times,  but  it  is  better  to  work  than  to  play 
at  all  times. 

When  God  made  man  he  put  him  in  a 
garden  full  of  all  good  things,  "  to  dress  it 
and  to  keep  it."  He  was  to  work  even  in 
the  garden  of  Eden.  Then  when  man  sinned 
against  God,  and  was  put  out  of  the  garden, 
God  said  to  him:  "  In  the  sweat  of  thy  face 
shalt  thou  eat  bread,  till  thou  return  unto  the 
ground."  Then  in  the  commandment  it  is 
said :  ''Six  days  shalt  thou  labour  and  do  all 
thy  work." 

And  yet  there  were  some^  in  Paul's  time 
who  were  idle,  who  would  not  work,  either 
with  their  heads  or  with  their  hands.     Paul 

844 


WORK  HONORABLE.  245 

himself  toiled,  working  with  his  hands.  He 
told  those  that  stole  to  steal  no  more,  but  to 
work  with  their  hands  the  thing  that  is  good. 
But  to  those  who  would  do  nothing,  but  live 
on  others,  he  spoke  sharply,  and  said:  "If 
any  will  not  work,  neither  let  him  eat."  If 
they  can  work,  and  will  not,  let  them  starve. 
Others  are  not  required  to  work  to  keep  such 
alive.  This  is  the  Christian  rule,  and  it  ought 
to  be  enforced  upon  all  who  are  too  lazy  or 
proud  to  earn  a  living  by  labor.  Hunger 
would  soon  make  them  glad  to  work. 

1.  We  ought  to  work  because  God  com- 
mands us  to  do  so.  We  have  just  given 
these  commands,  which  cover  every  kind  of 
useful  labor. 

2.  We  ought  to  work  that  we  "  may  have 
whereof  to  give  to  him  that  hath  need."  We 
are  not  to  work  that  others  may  be  idle. 
Boys  are  not  to  work  that  girls  may  do  noth- 
ing, nor  girls  that  boys  may  do  nothing. 
Among  the  savages  the  women  do  nearly  all 
the  work,  except  hunting  and  fighting.  Men 
and  women,  boys  and  girls,  should  all  work, 
each  helping  the  other,  that  they  may  live  in 
comfort  and  have  something  to  give  the  sick 
and  those  who  suffer  loss  by  fire,  or  in  any 


246  SERMONS  FOR    CHILDREN. 

Other  way.  But  beggars  and  tramps  and 
lazy  persons,  who  will  not  work,  ought  not 
to  be  fed  or  clothed,  but  should  be  made  to 
earn  their  own  bread  and  butter,  or  starve. 
We  ought  not  to  feed  them  in  their  idleness. 
God's  way  should  be  tried  with  them,  the 
way  given  in  our  text,  then  they  will  work. 
3.  We  ought  to  work  because  it  is  best 
for  us  to  do  so.  What  God  commands  is 
always  best,  and  those  who  obey  him  are 
always  the  most  happy.  Those  who  work 
are  the  happiest.  But  men  may  work  with 
the  head  as  well  as  with  the  hands,  and 
the  hardest  workers  are  the  head  workers, 
not  the  hand  workers.  All  who  have  tried 
both  kinds  will  tell  you  so.  Now  let  us 
see  how  God  treats  those  who  work  well 
and  those  who  are  careless  in  their  work. 
He  says  :  — 

"  He  becometh  poor  that  dealeth  with  a  slack  hand  : 

But  the  hand  of  the  dihgent  maketh  rich." 

"  The  hand  of  the  dihgent  shall  bear  rule  : 

But  the  slothful  shall  be  put  under  taskwork.'* 

*'The  soul  of  the  sluggard  desireth,  and  hath  nothing  : 

But  the  soul  of  the  diligent  shall  be  made  fat." 

"Seest   thou  a  man   diligent  in  his   business?   he   shall 

stand  before  kings ; 
He  shall  not  stand  before  mean  men." 


WORK  HONORABLE.  2\*J 

How  true  these  proverbs  are  !  Nearly  all 
our  business  men,  our  professional  men,  our 
politicians,  who  have  become  great,  were 
poor  boys  who  did  all  sorts  of  work  and 
were  careful  to  do  it  well.  If  boys  have  a 
garden  to  care  for,  and  neglect  it,  the  garden 
will  grow  up  to  weeds ;.  they  will  get  little 
to  eat  from  it.  But  if  they  care  well  for  it, 
digging  out  the  weeds,  they  will  get  plenty. 
Remember,  then,  this  other  proverb  :  — 

"  He  that  tilleth  his  land  shall  have  plenty  of  bread  : 
But  he  that  followeth  after  vain  persons  shall  have  pov- 
erty enough." 

Children,  this  is  true.  He  that  labors  and 
saves  will  have  plenty  of  bread  and  money ; 
but  the  idle  and  all  they  who  go  with  bad 
company  shall  have  poverty  enough.  Thus 
we  see  that  it  is  best  to  work. 

4.  We  ought  to  work  because  it  is  honora- 
ble to  do  so.  What  God  commands  and 
what  is  best  for  us  is  honorable.  Honest 
labor  brings  to  honor,  as  we  have  seen  ;  lazi- 
ness brings  to  poverty  and  shame.  You 
may  think  it  hard  that  you  have  to  work  so 
much ;  you  may  feel  ashamed  of  labor  and 
envy  the  idle,  —  for  boys  are  sometimes  so 


248  SERMONS  FOR   CHILDREN. 

foolish  as  to  do  this,  —  but  you  are  to  think 
of  the  honor  your  labor  will  bring  you  ;  for 
the  boys  and  girls  that  are  willing  to  do  any 
kind  of  honest  work  will  become  our  best 
and  most  honored  citizens  by-and-by.  But 
those  who  loaf  on  the  street  corners,  too 
proud  or  lazy  to  work  or  study,  will  some- 
times beg  or  go  to  jail  or  the  poor-house. 
If  a  man  wants  a  boy  in  the  shop,  in  the 
store,  on  the  farm,  or  for  any  purpose  what- 
ever, from  which  class  does  he  select  him, 
from  the  loafers  or  from  the  workers  ?  Why, 
always  from  the  faithful  workers.  Men  know 
that  such  boys  can  be  trusted,  and  so  they 
select  from  among  them.  Thus  the  indus- 
trious, the  honest,  the  obedient,  are  held  in 
honor,  but  the  loafers  are  passed  by  as 
worthless. 

Here  are  four  good  reasons  why  we  should 
work  and  never  be  ashamed  of  it.  Repeat 
them :  — 

1.  God  commands  us  to  work. 

2.  We  ought  to  earn  money  to  give  to  the 
unfortunate  needy. 

3.  It  is  best  for  us  to  work. 

4.  Work  is  honorable. 

We  will  add  that  Christ  is  called,  not  only 


WORK  HONORABLE. 


249 


*'  the  son  of  a  carpenter,"  but  also  ''  the  car- 
penter." He  honored  work.  He  chose  for 
apostles  men  who  lived  by  labor.  Some 
were  fishermen,  and  he  made  them  fishers  of 
men  ;  one  was  a  tax-collector ;  one  a  tent- 
maker.  Surely  you  will  not  be  ashamed  to 
work  and  do  what  you  can  to  earn  an  honest 
living.  If  you  keep  off  the  streets  that  you 
may  work  or  study,  you  will  grow  up  useful 
citizens  and  I  hope  good  Christians  ;  while 
the  lazy  and  proud  will  become  begging 
tramps. 

Remember  :  "  If  any  will  not  work,  neither 
let  him  eat." 


THE     RAIN. 

Sing  unto  the  Lord  with  thanksgiving; 

Sing  praises  upon  the  harp  unto  our  God : 

Who   covereth  the  heaven  with  clouds, 

Who  prepareth  rain  for  the  earth, 

Who  maketh  grass  to  grow  upon  the  mountains. 

He  giveth  to  the  beast  his  food, 

And  to  the  young  ravens  which  cry.  —  Ps.  147 :  7-9. 

You  have  often  seen  the  clouds  and  the 
rain  ;  and  did  you  never  ask :  What  is 
rain  ?  Where  does  it  come  from  ?  How 
did  it  get  into  the  sky  ?  What  could  we 
do   without   it  ? 

The  Bible  says  much  about  the  rain.  It 
describes  a  storm  with  its  wind,  and  rain, 
and  lightning,  and  thunder :  *'  God  mak- 
eth lightnings  for  the  rain."  "  His  light- 
nings lightened  the  world."  "The  God  of 
glory  thundereth."  ''  Canst  thou  thunder 
with  a  voice  like  him  ?  "  ''  The  voice  of 
thy  thunder  was  in  the  whirlwind  ;  .  .  .  the 
earth  trembled  and  shook."  "  The  voice  of 
the  Lord  "  (his  thunder)  "  is  full  of  majesty. 
The  voice  of  the   Lord  breaketh  the  cedars 

250 


THE  RAIN.  251 

...  he  maketh  them  also  to  skip  hke  a  calf." 
'*  The  voice  of  the  Lord  .  .  .  strippeth 
the  forests  bare."  There  are  a  great  many 
other  texts  that  refer  to  the  rain,  the  wind, 
the  lightning,  and  the  thunder. 

I .  What  is  rain  ?  We  are  told  by  Job : 
''  For  he  draweth  up  the  drops  of  water, 
which  distil  in  rain  from  his  vapor."  You 
look  into  the  sky  on  a  clear  day :  there  is 
no  cloud,  no  water  there,  that  you  can  see, 
though  the  air  is  full  of  vapor  of  water, 
particles  so  small  that  you  can  not  see 
them.  But  let  a  warm  wind  blow  into  the 
cold  air,  as  you  blow  your  breath  into  the 
air  in  winter,  and  clouds  arise.  The  vapor 
changes  so  that  we  can  see  it,  and  begins 
to  fall  to  the  ground  in  drops  that  we  call 
rain.  Each  drop  starts  high  up  in  the  cloud, 
a  very  small  drop,  but  as  it  falls  it  picks  up 
more  and  more  water  until  it  comes  down 
a  large  round  drop. 

Men  have  made  it  rain  and  snow  in  a 
small  room,  by  mixing  cooler  air  with 
warmer ;  but  they  are  not  able  to  make 
it  rain  out-of-doors  when  they  will. 

We  mean  by  rain,  then,  drops  of  water 
falling  from  the  clouds  to  the  earth.     When 


252  SERMONS  FOR    CHILDREN.     ■ 

they  are  frozen  we  call  them  hall,  If  they 
are  large  and  hard,  but  snow  if  small  and 
feathery.  When  they  fall  but  a  few  inches 
and  in  little  tiny  drops  we  call  them  dew. 
But  dew,  snow,  hail,  and  rain  are  the  same 
thing  in  different  forms. 

2.  Where  does  the  rain  come  from  ?  It 
comes  from  the  air  above  and  around  us. 
The  air  is  full  of  water  all  the  time,  on  clear 
days  as  on  rainy  days.  If  you  could  squeeze 
the  air  as  you  can  squeeze  a  wet  sponge,  the 
ground  would  be  covered  deep  with  water. 
The  rain   comes  from   the  air.     But  — 

3.  How  did  it  get  there  ?  I  will  tell  you. 
If  you  put  a  basin  of  water  into  the  sunshine 
and  leave  it  there  long  enough,  your  basin 
will  be  empty.  All  the  water  will  have  gone. 
Where  ?  Not  through  the  basin,  not  over 
the  top,  but  into  the  air.  If  you  were  to  sit 
down  and  watch  it  go,  you  could  not  see  it, 
it  would  steal  away  so  slyly.  The  air  takes  it 
up  in  such  small  particles  that  you  can  not 
see  them.  Now  what  takes  place  from  your 
little  basin  takes  place  from  every  river, 
pool,  pond,  lake,  sea,  and  ocean.  The  air 
is  all  the  time  drawing  up  the  water  and 
carrying  it  off,  and  the  reason  why  the  ponds 


THE  RAIN.  253 

and  seas  do  not  dry  up  is  that  the  rain  falls 
and  fills  them  up  again,  as  your  basin  would 
be  filled  by  a  shower.  Job  understood  It 
when  he  said:  ''For  he  draweth  up  the 
drops  of  water,  which  distil  In  rain  from  his 
vapor ;  which  the  skies  pour  down  and  drop 
upon  man  abundantly."  ''  For  he  salth  to 
the  snow,  Fall  thou  on  the  earth ;  likewise 
to  the  shower  of  rain,  and  to  the  showers  of 
his  mighty  rain  "   (Job  36  :  27  ;    'i^']  \  6). 

4.  What  could  we  do  without  rain  ?  If 
the  rain  should  cease  and  the  dew,  every 
green  and  living  thing  would  die,  —  grass, 
trees,  Insects,  beasts,  birds,  men,  —  except 
where  men  pumped  or  carried  water  to  wet 
the  earth,  and  what  a  task  that  would  be ! 
If  you  had  nothing  to  wet  your  lawns  or 
gardens  with  but  the  water  you  pumped 
from  a  well  or  brought  from  the  river  or 
lake,  what  a  dreary  life  you  would  have ! 
Day  in  and  day  out  you  would  have  to  lug 
the  water  or  pump  it ;  for  if  you  stopped, 
every  herb   and  flower  would  die. 

But  God  sends  the  rain,  and  how  green 
and  bright  and  happy  every  thing  is  !  No 
wonder,  then,  that  men  sing  unto  God  for 
the  rain  and  praise  him  for  the  showers, 
saying,    in   the  words   of   our  text,  — 


254 


SERMONS  FOR    CHILDREN. 


"  Sing  unto  the  Lord  with  thanksgiving ; 
Sing   praises  upon   the  harp  unto  our  God  : 
Who  covereth  the  heaven  with  clouds, 
Who  prepareth  rain  for  the   earth, 
Who  maketh  grass  to  grow  upon  the  mountains. 
He  giveth   to  the  beast  his  food, 
And  to  the  young  ravens  that  cry." 

If  God  should  withhold  the  rain,  the  earth 
would  soon  become  a  desert  of  sand  where 
no  grass  could  grow  or  animal  could  live. 
Let  us  thank  God  for  the  rain :  "  For  he 
maketh  his  sun  to  rise  on  the  evil  and  the 
good,  and  sendeth  rain  on  the  just  and  the 
unjust." 


LI. 

THE    SNOW. 

For  he  saith  to  the  snow,  Fall  thou  on  the  earth.  —  Jobs/:  6. 

You  have  played  so  much  in  the  snow, 
children,  that  I  wish  to  talk  to  you  about 
it ;  for  it  is  a  wonderful  thing  and  a  beauti- 
ful thing. 

It  is  so  wonderful  a  thing  that  if  you  had 
never  seen  a  snow-storm  in  your  life,  you 
would  be  frightened  at  the  falling  flakes,  or 
dance  with  delight  in  trying  to  catch  them. 
It  is  so  wonderful  that  if  you  were  to  go 
to  any  part  of  the  earth  where  there  is  no 
snow  in  winter  and  tell  them  what  you  have 
seen,  they  would  not  believe  you.  If  you 
should  tell  the  boys  and  girls  there  that  in 
your  country  you  could  take  water  in  your 
hands,  make  it  into  round  balls,  and  throw 
them  at  one  another  in  mimic  battle  ;  that 
you  could  build  forts  of  it  with  high  walls 
all  round  ;  that  you  could  form  houses  out 
of  it  and  build  fires  inside  them  ;  that  you 
could  roll  it  up  into  huge  balls  as   high  as 

255 


256  SERMONS  FOR    CHILDREN. 

your  head  ;  that  you  could  shovel  a  path 
through  it  with  banks  on  both  sides;  that 
you  could  fashion  it  into  the  image  of  a 
man  with  legs,  arms,  head,  nose,  and  eyes, 
do  you  think  they  would  believe  what  you 
say  ?  And  if  you  should  tell  them  you  had 
seen  the  water  driven  by  the  wind  into  great 
drifts  on  the  top  of  which  you  could  walk ; 
that  you  had  great  sport  in  sliding  down  the 
hills  on  the  snow  ;  that  it  would  lodge  on  the 
roofs  of  the  houses  and  stay  there  for  many 
days  ;  that  it  would  heap  itself  up  on  the 
limbs  of  the  trees  until  they  would  bend  to 
the  ground  or  break  off ;  that  it  would  form 
a  ridge  on  the  telegraph  wires  ;  that  you 
could  skate  over  it  on  iron,  —  why,  what  do 
you  think  they  would  say  to  your  story  ? 
Would  they  believe  you  ?  Perhaps  they 
would  fetch  some  water  and  say  to  you  : 
"  Make  this  into  balls  and  throw  them  at 
us  ;  cut  paths  through  this  water  ;  heap  it 
up  in  ridges  on  the  limbs  of  trees  ;  fashion 
it  into  the  form  of  a  man  with  legs  and 
hands,  and  head  and  eyes,  and  we  will  be- 
lieve you,  but  not  till  then."  Then  you 
would  cry  out  :  "  Oh,  it  is  water  frozen  into 
snow  and  ice  that  I  was  telling  you  about." 


THE   SNOIV. 


And  they  would  say  :  "  Freeze  this  water 
Into  snow  or  ice  and  we  will  believe  you, 
but   not   till   then." 

How  could  you  make  them  believe  what 
you  say  ?  They  had  never  seen  snow  or  ice 
or  frost  which  you  have  seen  so  often.  You 
could  not  turn  water  into  snow  or  ice,  and 
they  would  regard  you  as  a  great  liar.  You 
would  have  told  them  the  truth,  but  they 
would  not  believe  you  because  they  had 
never  seen  what  is  so  common  to  you,  and 
because  snow  is   such  a  wonderful   thing. 

For  snow  is  moisture  or  water  freezing 
in  the  air  ;  and  ice  is  frozen  water  on  the 
ground  or  river.  You  breathe  on  a  warm  day, 
and  you  do  not  see  your  breath  at  all  ;  but 
you  go  out  some  cold  morning,  and  your 
breath  looks  like  a  cloud  of  smoke.  Why  ? 
Because  the  moisture  or  water  in  your  warm 
breath  meets  the  cold  air  and  becomes  a 
cloud  of  fog  for  a  moment,  then  it  freezes 
and  falls  to  the  ground  as  frost.  Job  says 
in  the  tenth  verse  of  the  chapter  from  which 
the  text  is  taken  :  "By  the  breath  of  God 
frost  is  given."  He  likens  God  to  a  great 
man  breathing  over  all  the  land,  and  the 
ground  is  covered  with  white  frost,  the  frozen 


258  SERMONS  FOR    CHILDREN: 

breath  of  God.  When  a  warm  current  of 
air  meets  a  cold  current,  the  water  In  the 
air  freezes  and  falls  as  snow.  And  so  Job 
says  :  ''  God  saith  to  the  snow,  Be  thou  on 
the  earth,"  and  the  ground  is  covered  as 
with   a   clean   white    garment. 

And  snow  is  very  beautiful ;  when  the 
moisture  or  water  in  the  air  freezes,  it 
forms  the  most  beautiful  crystals  and  falls 
to  the  ground.  These  crystals  are  in  many 
forms  and  sizes.  One  man  examined  and 
pictured  nearly  a  hundred  different  forms 
of  the  crystals.  If  you  catch  a  large  flake 
on  a  still  day  and  look  at  it  through  a  magni- 
fying glass  or  a  microscope,  you  will  see  a 
thing  of  beauty,  but  not  a  joy  forever  ;  for 
it  will  soon  melt  into  water.  If  you  look 
into  Webster's  largest  dictionary,  you  will 
find  pictures  of  the  crystals  of  snow  and  can 
see  how  beautiful  they  are.  So  if  you  look 
at  the  frost  marks  on  the  window  glass  some 
cold  morning,  you  will  find  most  beautiful 
tracings,  made  by  the  crystals  of  water  when 
freezing.  You  can  not  draw  any  thing  so 
beautiful. 

Snow  is  white  and  clean  when  it  falls,  and 
so    it    is    made  to    stand  for  cleanliness  or 


THE   SNOW. 


259 


purity.  The  clothes  of  angels  are  said  in 
the  Bible  to  be  as  white  as  snow  ;  and  white 
is  worn  by  boys  and  girls,  men  and  women, 
as  a  sign  of  purity.  Job  speaks  in  one  place 
of  washing  himself  in  snow  water,  and  mak- 
ing his  hands  never  so  clean.  So  you  should 
have  white,  clean  hands  and  faces,  and  should 
keep  your  clothes  clean  ;  so  that  snow  may 
be  a  symbol  of  your  purity. 

But  all  wrong  and  sinful  things  defile  your 
hearts,  which  should  be  cleaner  than  your 
clothes.  Sin  is  spoken  of  as  vile,  cor- 
rupt, a  stain,  a  blemish;  and  yet  your  sinful 
hearts  can  be  made  clean  and  white,  when 
you  repent  of  sin  and  turn  from  it.  This 
is  why  Christ  Jesus  died  on  the  cross,  that 
God  might  forgive  your  sins  and  create  a 
clean  heart  within  you.  Hence  the  king  of 
Israel,  David,  was  not  ashamed  to  say  to 
God  :  "  Wash  me,  and  I  shall  be  whiter 
than  snow."  And  God  says  to  each  one  : 
"  Though  your  sins  be  as  scarlet,  they  shall 
be  as  white  as  snow."  And  the  forgiven 
are  said  to  be  "  fairer  than  snow."  The 
clean  white  snow  as  it  falls  from  the  heavens 
thus  stands  for  purity  ;  and  a  pure  soul,  made 
such  by  the  forgiving  love  of  God  in  Christ 


260  SERMONS  FOR    CHILDREN. 

Jesus,  is  much  more  beautiful  than  the  crys- 
tals of  snow  which  fall  when  God  says  ; 
**  Fall  thou   on   the  earth." 

"  Purer  yet  and  purer 

I  would  be  in  mind, 
Dearer   yet   and  dearer 

Every    duty   find ; 
Hoping   still   and   trusting 

God  without   fear, 
Patiently   believing 

He  will  make  all  clear." 


LII. 

TAKING  CARE  OF  THE 
HEALTH. 

Beloved,  I  pray  that   in  all  things   thou  mayest   prosper  and  be  in 
health,  even  as  thy  soul  prospereth.  —  3  John   2. 

John  the  apostle  wrote  the  Httle  letter 
that  contains  the  text.  And  he  was  older 
when  he  wrote  it  than  perhaps  any  one  you 
ever  saw,  children  ;  for  he  was  nearly  or 
quite  one  hundred  years  of  age.  He  was 
feeble  through  age ;  and  he  had  a  right  to 
say  to  his  beloved  Gains  {gci'-yus)  that  he 
cared  for  his  health  ;  for  health  is  one  of 
God's  best  blessings,  easily  lost  but  hard 
to  find  again.  We  should  take  good  care 
of  our  health. 

I  am  going  to  preach  to  you,  therefore, 
on  caring  for  your  health  ;  for  I  do  not 
want  you  to  be  sick  and  die.  I  want  to 
see  you  run  and  skip  along  the  streets,  and 
live  to  be  aged.  You  do  not  want  to  be  sick. 
No  one  wants  you  to  be  sick.  And  yet  you 
may  be  sick,  and  all  because  you  do  not  care 

?6i 


262  SERMONS  FOR    CHILDREN. 

for  your  health.  I  wonder  if  you  would  re- 
member and  obey  a  few  short  rules  that  may 
help  you  to  keep  well  ?  I  will  try  to  make 
them  very  short  and  plain. 

Let  me  say,  before  giving  the  rules,  that 
writings  on  health  are  among  the  oldest  in 
the  world  ;  that  some  of  the  greatest  men 
have  given  their  attention  to  rules  of  health ; 
that  Moses  did  so  ;  that  the  Jews  are  because 
of  it  among  the  healthiest  people  in  the  world. 
We  are  told  that  the  death-rate  in  London, 
England,  for  each  thousand  people,  has  been 
lessened  two  thirds  in  the  last  two  hundred 
years,  by  care  for  health,  and  that  the  death- 
rate  in  the  English  army  has  been  lessened 
one  half  during  the  last  thirty  years.  You 
see  that  God  blesses  those  who  care  for 
their  health.     Now   for  the  rules  :  — 

I.  Breathe  pure  air.  You  can  not  live 
but  a  moment  or  two  without  air.  You 
must  have  it  or  die,  and  you  need  a  great 
deal  of  it.  God  has  made  it  free,  and  you 
need  it  as  pure  and  fresh  as  he  gives  it. 
So  do  not  sleep  in  close  rooms  with  no 
place  for  the  air  to  come  in  and  go  out 
during  the  night.  Sleep  in  large  rooms,  or 
where  you  get  a  constant  change  of  air,     It 


TAKING    CARE    OF  THE  HEALTH.  263 

will  give  you  health.  Then  when  you 
breathe,  as  you  do  all  the  time,  fill  your 
lungs  full,  to  the  very  bottom,  with  the 
good  fresh  air.  Pure  air  and  a  full  breath 
will  help  to  answer  the  prayer  of  John  for 
health  of  body. 

2.  Drink  pure  water.  Water  is  God's 
drink  for  man.  It  is  not  as  free  as  the 
air,  for  we  must  dig  wells  for  it  or  pump  it 
out  of  lakes  or  rivers.  But  we  should  take 
great  care  that  it  be  clear,  pure,  and  spark- 
ling. Bad  water  will  soon  make  you  sick. 
And  if  you  think  that  the  water  is  not  pure, 
do  not  drink  it  until  it  has  been  boiled  a 
w^hile ;  then  when  cool  you  can  drink  it, 
and    it    will    not    make  you   sick. 

3.  Eat  plain  food.  The  air  and  the  water 
you  can  not  choose  as  well  as  you  can  your 
food.  You  want  pies  and  cakes  and  candies, 
and  tease  for  them,  and  they  will  not  hurt 
you  if  you  eat  tb^m  now  and  then,  but 
if  you  eat  them  all  the  time  they  will  make 
you  sick.  They  are  not  the  best  food  for 
you.  You  need  to  eat  the  simple,  plain  food 
your  mother  cooks  you.  Then  your  cheeks 
will  be  full  and  fair  ;  but  if  you  are  eating 
cakes  and  candies  all  the  time,  you  will  soon 


264  SERMONS  FOR    CHILDREN. 

be  111,  and  the  doctors  may  not  be  able  to 
cure  you.  Eat  plain  food  and  do  not  eat 
all  the  time.  Let  your  jaws  and  stomach 
rest,  as  they  need  to ;  if  you  eat  all  the 
time  you  will  ruin  your  health,  which  you 
ought    to    preserve. 

4.  Keep  yourself  clean.  Do  not  be  afraid 
of  water  to  wash  and  bathe  with  ;  for  noth- 
ing produces  sickness  quicker  than  filth 
around  or  in  the  house,  or  on  the  body. 
Soap  and  water  will  keep  you  clean  and  well, 
if  used  often  enous^h.  Use  much  water 
and  be  clean.  The  Bible  says:  "Be  ye 
clean,"  and  gives  many  rules  for  keeping 
clean.  Keep  yourselves  clean.  There  is 
health  in  it. 

5.  Sleep  all  you  need.  You  play  and 
work,  and  you  need  rest  in  sleep.  Do  not 
rob  yourselves  of  sleep  by  late  hours  ;  for  if 
you  do  rob  your  nights  of  sleep,  you  will 
become  nervous,  cross,  and  sick.  Your 
health  will  suffer  without  all  the  sleep  you 
need.     Sleep    until    you    are   rested. 

6.  Keep  your  feet  dry.  Do  not  run  into 
the  water  or  mud,  and  if  you  must  go  out 
in  the  rain  or  dew,  put  on  rubbers  or  wear 
thick    shoes,  so  as  to  keep  your  feet  warm 


TAKING    CARE    OF   THE  HEALTH. 


265 


and  dry.  Heed  what  your  mothers  say 
about  dress  in  wet  weather,  and  wear  what 
they  tell  you  to  wear.  Do  not  leave  off 
your  rubbers  because  they  make  your  feet 
large  and  heavy.  Wear  any  thing  that  will 
keep  you  dry  and  warm,  so  that  you  will 
not  get  cold  and  be  sick  and  die,  as  so 
many  do. 

7.  Do  not  play  too  much.  Perhaps  you 
think  that  you  can  not  play  too  much,  but 
you  can.  You  can  run  until  you  are  tired 
out,  and  play  until  you  are  worn  out.  Do 
not    do   it.     Rest   and   be   quiet. 

8.  Be  cheerful.  A  merry  heart  is  better 
for  health  than  medicine,  for  it  will  keep 
you  from  being  sick,  while  medicine  may 
not  cure  you  when  sick.  Solomon  says : 
"  Pleasant  words  are  as  a  honeycomb,  sweet 
to  the  soul  and  health  to  the  bones."  Hearty 
laughter  will  cure  some  ills.  Be  cheerful 
then.  Use  pleasant  words.  Wear  a  pleasant 
face.     Be  happy. 

Now  I  have  given  you  eight  rules  for 
your  health.  If  you  obey  them  you  will  be 
in  health  and  live  long  lives.  You  will 
be  healthier  and  happier,  live  longer  and  be 
more    useful,    if    you    remember    them    and 


266  SERMONS  FOR    CHILDREN. 

obey  them  than  if  you  neglect  them.  Tell 
them  to  your  father  and  mother  so  they 
may  help  you   to   keep   them. 

That  you  may  keep  them  in  mind,  I  will 
repeat  them  :  — 

1.  Breathe  pure  air. 

2.  Drink  pure  water. 

3.  Eat  plain  food. 

4.  Keep  yourselves  clean. 

5.  Sleep  all  you  need. 

6.  Keep  your  feet  dry. 

7.  Do  not  play  too  much. 

8.  Be  cheerful. 

God  told  the  Jews  what  to  eat  and  what 
not  to  eat,  and  how  to  live  in  a  cleanly  man- 
ner, and  so  the  Jews  are  very  healthy.  They 
are  not  sick  as  much  as  others  are.  God 
wants  us  to  be  in  health,  to  live  long  lives,  to 
be  happy.  Let  us  then  take  good  care  of 
our  health,  and  ask  your  mothers  to  help 
you,  for  the  careful  live  the  longest. 


LIII. 
PUNCTUALITY. 

Be  instant  in  season.  —  2  Tim.  4 :  2. 

Paul  had  been  a  very  active  man,  always 
on  hand  when  there  was  any  thing-  to  be  done. 
But  when  he  wrote  our  text  he  was  an  old 
man,  and  was  in  prison  for  preaching  Jesus 
Christ.  He  was  soon  to  be  beheaded  as  a 
martyr,  dying  for  Christ's  sake.  A  little 
while  before  he  was  put  to  death  he  wrote 
a  letter  to  a  minister  of  the  gospel,  named 
Timothy,  a  young  man.  Paul  told  Timothy 
to  "be  instant  in  season,  out  of  season,"  in 
his  preaching.  But  as  he  who  is  not  prompt 
about  other  things  is  not  likely  to  be  in 
preaching,  we  may  apply  the  text  to  all 
things  that  we  do. 

To  be  instant  in  season  is  to  be  atten- 
tive, ready.  It  is  a  prompt  attention  that 
may  at  any  moment  pass  into  action.  It 
is  much  more  than  to  be  punctual,  and  yet 
it  includes  punctuality,  and  we  will  apply  it 
to  being  punctual. 

267 


2  68  SERMONS  FOR    CHILDREN. 

To  be  punctual  is  to  be  on  hand  at  the 
fixed  or  set  time,  not  tardy  or  behindhand ; 
to  be  prompt.  Let  me  illustrate  it :  Church 
worship  begins  at  a  fixed  time ;  and  to  be 
punctual  at  the  church  is  to  be  there  and 
in  your  seats  before  the  services  commence. 
If  you  come  late,  you  are  not  punctual.  So 
the  school  begins  at  a  fixed  time  ;  and  to  be 
punctual  at  school  is  to  be  there  and  in  your 
seats  before  the  school  begins.  If  you  agree 
to  meet  one  at  a  certain  hour  of  the  day,  to 
be  punctual  is  to  be  on  hand  at  that  hour 
and  minute.  If  you  come  after  the  time, 
you  are  not  instant  in  season,  but  you  are 
tardy. 

You  ought  to  try  to  be  punctual  at  all 
times  and  places,  and  these  are  the  reasons 
why :  — 

I.  You  will  do  more  if  you  are  punctual. 
The  punctual  boy  or  girl,  man  or  woman, 
keeps  ahead  of  his  work  or  study,  and  does 
not  lag  behind  it.  Take  your  lessons.  If 
you  are  instant  in  season  you  will  get  them 
before  the  time  comes  to  recite  them.  You 
will  keep  up  and  ahead  of  your  recitations. 
But  if  you  are  not  punctual,  then  you  will 
lag   behind,     The   time  will   come  to  recite 


PUNCTUALITY.  269 

and  you  are  not  ready.  A  part  of  the  lesson 
will  not  be  well  learned.  So  if  you  make  an 
agreement  to  meet  one,  to  be  on  hand  and 
have  it  done  with  saves  time  for  other  things. 
So  if  you  have  w^ork  or  chores  to  do,  do  them 
punctually  at  the  proper  time,  and  you  will 
do  them  best  and  quickest.  If  you  are 
prompt,  punctual,  instant  in  season,  you 
will  save  time  and  do  more  work  and  study. 

2.  You  will  have  more  time  for  play  if 
you  are  punctual.  If  you  have  a  task  to 
do  of  any  sort,  and  you  are  promptly  at  it 
in  time,  it  is  soonest  done,  and  being  done 
you  can  then  play  with  a  free  heart.  I  am 
glad  that  our  common  schools  teach  punctual- 
ity so  thoroughly  that  the  children  hurry  in 
when  the  last  bell  begins  to  ring.  Do  your 
tasks  promptly  and  you  will  get  more  time 
for  rest  or  play  or  reading  good  books  and 
papers. 

3.  It  is  your  duty  to  be  punctual.  If 
you  have  ever  seen  soldiers  march,  you 
know  what  is  to  be  in  line.  If  one  is  fast 
and  another  slow,  if  one  is  prompt  to  obey 
and  another  tardy,  the  line  is  all  out  of  joint. 
It  is  crooked  and  no  one  can  admire  it. 
Hence  soldiers  are  trained  to  keep  step,  to 


270  SERMONS  FOR    CHILDREN. 

move  tog-ether,  to  march  in  Hne.  It  is  the 
duty  of  every  soldier  to  be  instant  in  season, 
that  he  may  not  put  others  out  of  order.  So 
if  you  have  heard  a  band  of  music  play,  you 
noticed  what  perfect  time  was  kept.  One 
did  not  begin  and  then  another,  and  then 
the  third,  each  as  he  pleased ;  for  they 
are  all  trained  to  begin  together,  to  keep 
together,  and  to  close  together.  The  tardy 
ones  put  the  others  out  and  have  to  leave 
the  band  if  they  can  not  learn  to  be  on  time. 
They  have  to  be  instant  in  season. 

Now  it  is  your  duty  while  young  to 
form  habits  of  promptness,  readiness.  You 
need  to  learn  to  be  punctual,  on  hand 
in  time,  instant  in  season.  You  see  how 
quick  they  are  who  play  ball.  They  are 
all  alert  to  catch  the  ball,  but  to  catch  it 
they  must  be  where  it  is,  and  so  they  are 
intent,  they  watch  for  it,  they  are  instant  in 
season.  You  want  to  learn  to  do  the  same 
in  all  the  affairs  of  play,  study,  work,  and 
life.  You  want  to  be  punctual,  prompt,  so 
as    to   make   no    failure  in   life. 

If  you  take  a  little  twig,  you  can  bend 
and  break  it  as  you  will  ;  but  if  you  take 
two  or  three  together,  you  will   find  it  harder 


PUNCTUALITY.  '  27 1 

to  bend  or  break  them.  If  you  take  a  lot 
of  them  and  tie  them  together  In  a  bundle, 
you  can  not  either  bend  or  break  them. 
Now  a  man  Is  but  a  bundle  of  habits,  and  each 
habit  is  a  bundle  of  acts.  If  the  bundle  is 
made  up  of  good  sticks,  the  more  the  better, 
for  you  do  not  need  to  break  them.  But  If 
the  bundle  be  made  up  of  bad  sticks,  you 
ought  to  break  it,  but  the  larger  it  Is  the 
harder  it  is  to  break.  The  habit  of  being 
punctual  is  a  good  habit,  but  the  habit  of 
being  behindhand  is  a  bad  habit.  It  is  your 
duty  to  make  up  this  bundle  of  good  sticks, 
by  being  always  on  hand,  being  instant  in 
season.  Hence  be  punctual  at  school,  at 
church,  at  every  agreement  you  make. 
Never   be  late  if  you    can  help    it. 

It  Is  even  said  of  God  that  he  is  not 
slack  concerning  his  promises.  He  Is  not 
slow  in  fulfilling  them.  He  is  always  on 
time.  So  we  should  always  be  on  time. 
And  when  he  says:  "Remember  now  thy 
Creator  in  the  days  of  thy  youth  ;  "  ''  Those 
that  seek  me  early  shall  find  me,"  we  should 
obey  promptly.  Like  a  good  soldier  we 
should  obey  orders.  We  should  be  prompt 
to  hear  and  act.     We  ought  not  to  wait  for 


272 


SERMONS  FOR    CHILDREN. 


a  better  time.  Act  promptly,  be  instant  in 
season,  in  obeying  your  parents,  your  teach- 
ers, your  Saviour.  When  Christ  said  to 
Matthew  :  "  Follow  me,"  Matthew  obeyed 
instantly  and  followed  him.  God  commands 
you  to  do  the  same.  Never  be  behindhand 
in  any  duty.  Then  God,  even  our  God,  shall 
bless  you. 


LIV. 

DANIEL,   THE   TEMPERANCE    BOY. 

But  Daniel  purposed  in  his  heart  that  he  would  not  defile  himself  with 
the  portion  of  the  king's  meat,  nor  with  the  wine  which  he  drank.  — 
Dan.  1 :  8. 

Daniel  was  a  boy  about  seventeen  years 
old  when  he  was  carried  a  captive  from  Jeru- 
salem to  Babylon.  He  might  have  been  put 
to  work ;  but  as  he  was  of  noble  birth,  if  not 
of  royal  birth,  the  king  of  Babylon  selected 
him  and  three  other  captive  boys,  to  send  to 
school  in  the  palace,  that  they  might  be  edu- 
cated for  the  king's  service.  They  were  fed 
from  the  king's  own  table.  Now  the  king 
was  a  heathen,  a  worshiper  of  idols,  and  not 
of  God.  But  the  boys  were  Jews  ;  they  be- 
lieved in  and  worshiped  God.  They  had  the 
sacred  writings  to  read  which  now  form  a 
part  of  the  Bible.  Daniel,  though  a  lad  so 
young,  believed  that  the  law  of  Moses  for- 
bade his  eating  some  of  the  things  sent  him 
to  eat  by  the  king.  They  were  what  he  called 
unclean  food,  or  else  they  had  been  offered 

973 


274 


SERMONS  FOR    CHILDREN. 


to  idols  according  to  heathen  custom.  God 
had  forbidden  the  Jews  to  touch  such  food 
and  drink.  Daniel  knew  it,  and  he  purposed 
in  his  heart  to  obey  God  and  not  the  king. 
He  would  not  eat  or  drink  what  God  had 
forbidden,  though  sent  by  the  king.  So  he 
asked  the  officer  who  had  charge  of  him  that 
he  might  not  defile  himself  with  such  food 
and  wine.  The  officer  was  willing,  but  he 
feared  the  king,  and  that  the  simple  food 
which  Daniel  and  his  three  friends  wanted  to 
eat  would  not  be  good  for  them.  He  thought 
that  if  he  allowed  them  to  eat  it  their  faces 
would  be  worse  looking  than  those  of  the 
other  boys,  and  then  he  would  be  blamed  for 
it.  But  he  kindly  agreed  to  try  their  food 
and  see  what  would  be  the  result.  If  the 
boys  could  go  without  the  king's  food  and 
wine  and  not  be  injured  by  it,  he  would 
grant  their  request.  They  made  the  trial  for 
ten  days ;  and  at  the  end  of  the  trial  the 
countenances  of  these  four  pious  boys  *' ap- 
peared fairer  and  fatter  in  flesh  than  all  the 
children  which  did  eat  the  portion  of  the 
king's  meat."  So  the  officer  took  away  the 
portion  of  their  meat,  and  the  wine  that  they 
should  drink,  and  they  kept  the  command  of 


DANIEL,  THE    TEMPERANCE  BOY. 


275 


their  God.  They  did  not  defile  themselves 
with  the  kinof's  food  and  wine. 

They  were  very  good  and  brave  boys  to 
do  as  they  did,  and  God  blessed  them  for  it. 
They  could  study  better  with  their  simple 
food,  look  fairer,  be  healthier,  and  so  get  on 
better.  Daniel  became  a  great  man  and 
held  a  hiofh  office  all  his  life-time.  Read  the 
book  of  Daniel,  and  you  will  see  how  God 
exalted  and  rewarded  the  boy  that  obeyed 
him. 

You  should  do  as  Daniel  and  his  three 
friends  did,  obey  God.  They  were  captives 
and  could  be  made  to  do  what  they  did  not 
want  to  do.  Yet  they  purposed  in  their 
hearts  not  to  do  any  thing  which  was  not 
right.  And  one  of  the  things  they  did  not 
want  to  use  was  wine.  Daniel  took  the  lead 
in  these  good  things.  And  he  is  a  good  ex- 
ample for  all  boys.  Do  not  defile  yourselves 
with  either  wine  or  tobacco.  We  want  each 
one  of  you  to  purpose  in  his  heart  not  to  use 
wine  or  strong  drink  of  any  kind.  And  I 
will  give  you  the  reasons  why  you  should  not 
touch  them. 

I.  They  will  do  you  no  good.  When  the 
doctor  gives  them  for  medicine  you  may  take 


276  SERMONS  FOR    CHILDREN. 

them.  But  do  not  use  them  as  a  drink  or 
beverage.  Neither  wine  nor  beer,  neither 
whiskey  nor  any  other  strong  drink,  will  do 
you  good.  You  do  not  need  them.  This  is 
a  settled  fact.     They  will  do  you  no  good. 

2.  They  will  do  you  harm  if  you  use  them. 
They  injure  your  body  and  take  your  money. 
If  you  use  wine  or  any  other  strong  drink, 
you  can  not  study  as  well  or  work  as  well, 
or  do  any  thing  as  well  as  you  can  if  you  let 
them  alone.  If  you  defile  your  bodies  with 
intoxicating  liquors,  you  will  not  be  as  fair 
and  healthy  as  if  you  let  them  alone. 

3.  Their  use  leads  to  drunkenness.  You 
do  not  want  to  be  a  drunkard,  for  no  drunk- 
ard can  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  God.  Be- 
sides, no  one  has  more  shame  and  woe  than 
a  drunkard.  He  clothes  himself  in  rags  and 
lives  in  poverty.  You  do  not  want  to  have 
the  rags,  the  shame,  and  the  woe  of  a  drunk- 
ard ;  then  purpose  in  your  heart  not  to  touch 
beer  or  wine  or  any  other  kind  of  drink  that 
intoxicates.  If  you  begin  to  use  them,  you 
may  die  a  drunkard ;  but  if  you  never  begin 
to  drink  such  things,  you  are  safe,  you  will 
not  die  a  drunkard. 

4.  Even  if  you  could  use  such  drinks  with- 


DANIEL,   THE    TEMPERANCE  BOY.  277 

out  danger  or  Injury  to  yourself,  you  ought 
never  to  use  them,  for  the  sake  of  others  who 
would  be  injured  by  them.  God  not  only 
pronounces  woes  upon  drunkards,  but  he 
says  :  "  It  is  good  not  to  eat  flesh,  nor  to 
drink  wine,  nor  to  do  any  thing  whereby  thy 
brother  stumbleth."  You  ought  not  to  do 
any  thing  which  may  lead   others   into  evil. 

These  four  reasons  are  enough.  Let  me 
repeat  them:  i.  Wine  and  all  intoxicating 
drinks  do  you  no  good ;  2.  They  do  you 
harm;  3.  They  lead  to  drunkenness  ;  and  4. 
They  may  lead  others  to  fall  if  you  use  them. 
Hence  you  ought  to  purpose  in  your  heart, 
as  Daniel  did,  not  to  drink  them.  Most,  if 
not  all,  of  you  have  formed  such  a  purpose, 
and  have  signed  our  Sunday-school  temper- 
ance pledge,  never  to  use  beer,  wine,  or 
other  liquor.  We  hope  if  any  new  scholars 
have  not  signed  such  a  pledge,  they  will  do 
so.  We  want  every  name.  It  is  our  Roll  of 
Honor. 

The  pledge  is  a  solemn  promise.  If  it  is 
once  made,  it  should  be  kept.  I  do  not  want 
you  to  sign  this  pledge  more  than  once  ;  but 
I  want  and  expect  you  to  keep  it  as  you 
would  keep  any  other  promise.  When  our 
president,   Abraham    Lincoln,    had   promised 


278  SEIiiMONS  FOR    CHILDREN. 

freedom  to  all  slaves  who  should  enlist  In 
the  Federal  army  and  fight  to  put  down  the 
slave-holders'  rebellion,  he  was  urged  to  take 
back    his    promise,    but    he    wrote:     ''The 

PROMISE    HAVING    BEEN    MADE    MUST    BE    KEPT." 

When  you  sign  our  pledge,  you  make  a 
promise,  and  remember,  the  promise  having 
been  made  must  be  kept.  Hence  I  do  not 
ask  you  to  sign  again  as  though  your  promise 
had  expired,  but,  if  you  have  signed  once, 
let  that  be  enough.  For  if  you  are  truthful, 
as  I  want  you  to  be,  and  God  wants  you  to 
be,  your  promise  once  given  is  better  than 
if  many  times  given.  Keep  your  pledge  and 
never  break  it. 

Note.  —  Reference  is  made  in  the  sermon  to  a  Sunday- 
school  pledge  book.  This  book  is  bound  in  red  morocco 
and  kept  in  the  library,  and  contains  the  following  pledge, 
which  is  read  once  or  twice  a  year  for  new  signers  :  — 

"We,  the  undersigned,  being  officers,  teachers,  and 
scholars  of  the  First  Congregational  Sunday-school  of  the 
city  of  Port  Huron,  St.  Clair  County,  state  of  Michigan, 
for  our  own  good  and  the  good  of  the  world  in  which  we 
live,  do  hereby  promise  and  engage,  with  the  help  of 
Almighty  God,  to  abstain  from  buying,  selling,  or  using 
alcoholic  and  malt  beverages,  wine  included. 

"  In  token  of  which  we  hereunto  subscribe  our  names 
in  this  Sunday-school  pledge  book,  to  be  preserved  in 
the  pastor's  library  for  future  reference  and  use  by  mem- 
bers of  the  school." 


LV. 

FRETFULNESS. 

Fret  not  thyself  because  of  evil-doers.  —  Ps.  37 :  i. 

I  HOPE  none  of  the  children  will  forget 
to  look  out  in  the  Bible  the  text  of  every 
sermon,  and  do  it  without  help  from  others ; 
for  in  this  way  you  will  soon  learn  to  find 
any  book,  chapter,  and  verse  in  the  Bible. 
At  the  first  you  will  need  to  remember  the 
text  to-day:  ''Fret  not  thyself;"  for  some 
of  you  will  look  in  the  wrong  place  for  the 
text.  If  the  text  were  in  First  John  you 
might  look  in  the  Gospel  of  John  and  not 
in  his  First  Epistle  ;  and  so  not  finding 
the  text,  you  might  fret  about  it.  Now,  if 
you  will  find  the  Thirty-seventh  Psalm  and 
read  it,  you  will  see  that  the  words  :  ''  Fret 
not  thyself,"  are  several  times  repeated ; 
and  I  am  going  to  preach  you  a  sermon 
on  fretfulness,  or  peevishness. 

Perhaps  you  think  that  I  do  not  know  what 
fretfulness,   peevishness,  is  ;  but  I    do  know 

279 


28o  SERMONS  FOR    CHILDREN. 

what  it  is.  For  I  have  felt  it,  and  seen  It, 
and  heard  it,  and  read  about  it,  and  had  it. 
I  can  tell  you  just  what  it  is.  And  if  I 
were  to  go  into  some  of  your  homes,  I 
should  find  it  there,  and  know  It  from  the 
first  word  It  would  speak.  If  any  boy 
or  girl,  father  or  mother.  In  your  home  has 
it,  it  will  reveal  Itself  In  a  little  while  In 
some  word  or  act,  though  he  or  she  should 
try  hard  to  hide  It.  Let  me  tell  you  what 
it  is. 

To  be  peevish  Is  to  be  habitually  or  con- 
stantly fretful,  to  be  easily  vexed  or  fretted, 
to  be  cross,  hard  to  please,  ill-natured, 
testy,  irritable,  waspish,  apt  to  mutter  and 
complain,  petulant,  discontented,  captious. 
I  see  by  your  faces  that  you  know  It,  and 
that  you  recognize  it  as  something  you 
have  taken  to  bed  with  you  at  night  which 
awakened  with  you  In  the  morning,  and 
which  you  have  nursed  all  the  day  long. 
You  all  know  what  fretfulness,  peevishness, 
is.  But  some  of  you  do  not  like  that  old 
and  true  name  peevishness,  and  so  you 
call  it  nervousness,  as  though  to  change  Its 
name  were  to  change  Its  nature.  But  it 
is   the   same   old,   unhappy,    annoying  thing 


FRE  T FULNESS.  2  8 1 

that  we  have  described,  call  it  by  what 
name  you   will. 

I  wish  you  would  turn  it  out-of-doors, 
and  never  let  it  come  in  again ;  for  then 
how  happy  your  homes  would  be  !  For  no 
fretful,  peevish,  cross,  ill-tempered  boy  or 
girl,  man  or  woman,  ever  was  happy  or  able 
to  make  others  happy.  The  habit  of  being 
fretful  never  makes  one  feel  well,  or  look 
well,  or  act  well,  or  speak  well.  It  makes 
the  face  cross,  the  words  sharp,  the  acts 
hateful,  the  heart  sour,  the  life  petulant, 
the  boy  or  girl,  man  or  woman,  so  dis- 
agreeable that  nobody  likes  them.  We  like 
those  that  have  smiling  faces,  sweet  words, 
kind  actions,  and  a  "thank  you"  for  every 
thing.  But  no  one  while  peevish  ever  has 
these.  A  wasp  has  a  sharp  sting  that 
hurts,  so  has  a  peevish  boy  or  girl,  whose 
words  are  like  stings  and  whose  acts  are 
like  sharp  pins.  No  wonder,  then,  that  the 
text  says  :  ''  Fret  not  thyself  because  of 
evil-doers." 

Do  you  say  :  "I  can  not  help  it.  I  feel 
cross,  crabbed,  out  of  sorts  ;  and  I  speak  and 
act  as  I  feel"? 

That    is   just  what  you  ought  not   to  do. 


282  SERMONS  FOR    CHILDREN. 

If  you  give  way  to  your  feelings  you 
make  yourself  more  fretful,  and  torment 
others  about  you.  There  is  nothing  but 
evil  in  It,  to  you  and  to  others.  That  Is 
not  the  way  to  get  rid  of  cross  feelings; 
but  I  will  tell  you  how  to  do  it,  and  if  you 
try  hard  to  follow  the  way,  you  will  soon  be 
rid  of  petulant  feelings  and  peevish  habits. 
This  is  the  way :  When  you  feel  cross  or 
fretful  or  angry,  walk  across  the  room  three 
times  without  saying  a  word,  and  you  will 
feel  better  ;  and  If  you  will  do  this  every  time 
you  are  peevish,  It  will  soon  cure  you  alto- 
gether.    Try  it. 

I  used  to  try  it  when  at  school.  If  I 
could  not  get  my  lessons  as  quickly  as  I 
desired,  I  became  nervous,  peevish,  vexed. 
It  fretted  me,  as  it  does  you.  It  was 
foolish  in  me,  as  It  Is  in  you,  to  be  fretful 
over  so  small  a  matter ;  and  so  I  said : 
''  I  will  break  myself  of  it,  lest  It  become 
a  fixed  habit."  To  do  so,  I  would  leave 
my  book  for  a  minute  or  two,  walk  across 
the  room  a  few  times,  say  nothing ;  and 
presently  the  feeling  of  petulance  would 
pass  away ;  I  would  feel  better ;  then  I 
would   go   back  to   my  study,  and  learn  my 


FRETFULNESS.  283 

lesson  quickly.  If  you  will  do  this  when 
you  feel  cross  or  peevish,  and  want  to 
say  or  do  some  hateful  thing,  you  will  soon 
cease  to  be  fretful  and  become  pleasant.  If 
you,  every  time  you  feel  petulant,  will  stop, 
say  nothing,  do  nothing  ill-natured,  but  walk 
across  the  floor  a  few  times,  you  will  find 
that  a  sweet  spirit  will  drive  out  the  bitter 
spirit,  gentle  words  will  come  in  place  of 
the  stinging  words,  and  kind  acts  instead 
of  petulant.  You  will  soon  learn  not  to 
fret  yourself  over  any  evil.  This  will  cure 
any  case  of  peevishness  which  may  afflict 
you  and  others. 

And  why  should  you  not  try  it  ?  It  will 
turn  your  pouting  and  crying  and  fretting 
and  scolding  into  smiles  and  sweetness  and 
love.  It  will  turn  many  a  child  into  an 
angel  of  light,  many  a  home  into  a  paradise 
of  joy.  Try  it  the  very  next  time  you  feel 
peevish,  and  every  time  —  for  once  will  not 
do  —  and  it  will  make  you  happy.  But  fret- 
ting does  you  no  good  ;  it  makes  you  and 
all  in  the  home  unhappy  ;  it  does  nothing  but 
harm.  Why  not  turn  it  out  of  your  hearts 
and  homes,  and  never  let  it  in  again?  Why 
not  be  rid  of  it  at  once  and  forever?     "  Fret 


284  SERMONS  FOR    CHILDREN. 

not  thyself  because  of  evil-doers."  ''  Fret  not 
thyself."  God  forbids  all  peevishness,  fret- 
fulness. 

I  wish  you    would    learn    by  heart    these 
words  of  the  poet  Whittier :  — 

"  A  little  word  in  kindness  spoken, 
A  motion,  or  a  tear, 
Has  often  healed  the  heart  that  's  broken, 
And  made  a  friend  sincere. 

A  word  —  a  look  —  has  crushed  to  earth 

Full  many  a  budding  flower. 
Which,  had  a  smile  but  owned   its  birth, 

Would  bless  life's  darkest   hour. 

Then  deem  it  not  an  idle  thing 

A  pleasant  word    to  speak; 
The  face  you  wear,  the  thought   you  bring, 

A  heart  may  heal  or  break." 


LVI. 
THINKING  OF  ONE'S   SELF. 

For  I  say,  through  the  grace  that  was  given  unto  me,  to  every  man 
that  is  among  you,  not  to  think  of  himself  more  highly  than  he  ought  to 
think.  —  Rom.  12:  3. 

You  know,  children,  that  some  things  are 
easy  to  do,  and  other  things  are  very  hard  to 
do.  The  text  tells  us  a  hard  thing  to  do  :  not 
to  think  of  one's  self  more  highly  than  he 
ought  to  think. 

But  what  does  this  mean  ?  It  means  that 
no  boy  or  girl,  man  or  woman,  should  over- 
estimate himself  or  herself,  should  think  more 
of  self  than  is  proper  or  right.  If  you  are 
all  the  time  thinking  about  yourselves,  what 
you  are,  what  you  wear,  what  you  can  do  to 
attract  attention  and  have  every  body  look  at 
you  ;  if  you  feel  above  others,  that  you  are 
brighter,  smarter,  prettier,  dress  better  than 
they,  you  think  more  highly  of  yourselves 
than  you  ought  to  think.  And  so  you  are 
meant  by  the  text. 

Let  us  visit  a  boy  that  thinks  more  highly 

385 


286  SERMONS  FOR    CHILDREN. 

of  himself  than  he  ought  to  think,  and  see 
how  he  behaves.  He  sits  still  a  little  while 
after  we  go  in,  for  we  are  strangers.  He  has 
never  seen  us  before.  But  soon  he  does  or 
says  something  to  let  us  know  that  he  is  at 
home  and  must  not  be  forgotten.  We  must 
pay  attention  to  him  as  well  as  to  his  mother. 
But  we  keep  on  talking  with  his  mother,  until 
the  little  boy  goes  through  some  antic,  to 
make  us  look  at  him  and  see  what  smart 
things  he  can  do.  He  does  not  know  that 
we  should  think  more  and  better  of  him  if 
he  kept  still  and  behaved  as  he  ought  during 
our  visit ;  but  he  thinks  no  one  sees  him  un- 
less he  is  the  center  of  all  eyes  and  smiles. 
So  he  keeps  on  saying  and  doing  things  just 
to  be  seen.  He  puts  himself  before  his 
mother  and  wants  her  to  stop  talking,  that 
he  may  talk  or  show  himself  off.  He  thinks 
more  of  himself  than  of  his  mother  or  of 
any  one  else.  He  cries  out :  "  See  me  !  see 
what  I  am ;  what  I  can  do !  "  He  wants 
us  to  laugh  at  him  as  a  wonder ;  to  notice 
and  praise  him. 

Did  you  ever  see  such  a  boy  or  girl  ?  Can 
you  call  him  by  name  ?  Is  his  name  your 
name,  I  wonder  ?     Think  of  it  and  see ;  for 


THINKING    OF  ONE'S  SELF.  287 

no  one  likes  the  boy  or  girl  who  thinks  of 
self  too  highly. 

This  pride  or  desire  shows  itself  in  another 
way ;  as  when  a  boy  or  girl  is  asked  to  do 
something,  to  read  aloud,  or  to  recite  a  piece, 
or  to  play  on  the  organ  or  piano,  and  will 
not  consent  to  do  so  without  a  great  deal  of 
urging.  They  begin  to  make  excuses,  and 
if  at  last  they  consent,  they  act  as  if  they 
were  thinking  of  self  all  the  time,  of  how 
they  look,  or  how  they  shall  get  through  it, 
or  what  others  will  think  of  it.  How  much 
better  to  do  the  thing  desired  the  best  you 
can,  without  a  single  thought  of  self!  Do 
not,  therefore,  think  more  highly  of  yourself 
than  you  ought  to  think. 

Do  you  ask:  *' How  can  I  help  it?"  Let 
me  tell  you,  and  I  want  you  to  learn  and  re- 
member the  rules  I  give  :  — 

1.  Think  enough  of  yourself  always  to 
behave  well  in  church,  in  school,  at  home, 
on  the  street,  in  company,  every-where.  This 
is  not  thinking  too  highly  of  yourself. 

2.  Think  enough  of  yourself  to  dress  well, 
not  richly,  but  in  clean  and  suitable  clothes. 
Be  careful,  then,  not  to  soil  your  clothes,  espe- 
cially your  best  clothes.  Keep  them  clean 
and  fit  for  church. 


288  SERMONS  FOR    CHILDREN. 

3.  Think  enough  of  yourself  to  hear  well. 
When  you  are  talking-  with  others,  give  them 
their  full  share  in  the  conversation.  Do  not 
talk  all  the  time  yourself,  as  though  what  you 
say  is  all-important,  and  what  they  say  is  of 
no  importance.  Hear  what  they  say,  and 
they  will  hear  what  you  say.  Turn  about  is 
fair  play. 

4.  Think  enough  of  yourself  to  see  well. 
See  what  others  do,  and  what  they  have.  If 
you  play  at  any  thing,  see  how  the  others 
play.  Look  at  them,  if  you  want  them  to 
look  at  you  in  the  game. 

5.  Think  more  of  your  father  and  mother 
than  of  yourself.  Your  father  is  a  king,  your 
mother  is  a  queen,  and  you  should  think  more 
of  making  them  happy,  of  pleasing  them,  than 
of  your  own  comfort.  Forget  self  and  honor 
them.  When  they  are  talking,  do  not  break 
in  with  your  little  words.  Be  still,  and  hear, 
and  see. 

6.  Think  of  your  teachers  and  pastor  with 
love  and  respect,  as  knowing  more  than  you 
do.  Never  fancy  that  you  know  too  much  to 
be  taught.  Think  of  your  great  ignorance, 
of  what  you  do  not  know;  and  in  the  school 
and  church  you  will  not  think  of  yourself 
more  highly  than  you  ought  to  think. 


THINKING    OF  ONE'S  SELF.  289 

7.  Think  of  God  and  your  sins,  and  you 
will  think  humbly  and  soberly  and  jusdy  of 
yourself.  You  could  not  boast  of  yourself 
before  God,  for  you  have  disobeyed  him. 
You  need  to  ask  him  to  forgive  you  and  to 
make  you  better.  And  when  you  feel  this 
need,  you  are  humble  and  sober,  as  God 
would  have  you  be. 

If  you  heed  these  rules  you  will  not  think 
more  highly  of  yourself  than  you  ought  to 
think ;  for  they  teach  you  to  think  enough 
of  yourself  always  to  behave  well,  to  dress 
suitably,  to  hear  others  talk,  to  see  what  they 
do,  to  place  your  parents  above  yourself,  to 
love  and  respect  your  teachers,  and  to  honor 
and  fear  God.  These  will  cause  you  to  think 
humbly  and  soberly  of  yourself,  as  you  ought 
to  think. 


LVII. 
THE    BEST   ORNAMENTS. 

For  they  shall  be  an  ornament  of  grace  unto  thy  head,  and  chains 
about  thy  neck. —  Prov.  i :  9. 

Children  are  fond  of  ornaments,  as  others 
are.  They  Hke  gold  rings  and  chains,  pins 
and  bracelets.  Away  back  in  the  time  of 
Abraham,  women  wore  earrings  and  brace- 
lets ;  and  they  were  very  common  in  the  days 
of  king  Solomon,  the  writer  of  the  text. 
Then  they  wore  jewelry  on  the  ankles  and 
in  the  nose,  as  well  as  on  the  arms  and 
fingers. 

If  I  were  to  offer  to  give  you  all  a  golden 
ring  or  chain,  or  a  string  of  costly  pearls 
for  your  neck  or  hair,  the  very  best  piece  of 
jewelry  each  one  should  select,  how  delighted 
you  would  be.  You  would  wait  after  the 
sermon  to  get  them,  and  you  would  do  right 
to  wait  for  them  ;  for  they  would  be  graceful 
ornaments  on  your  finger,  or  neck,  or  arms, 
or  head.  They  are  beautiful,  and  each  one 
of  you  would  wear  one   or  more   of  them. 

290 


THE  BEST   ORNAMENTS. 


291 


As  God  shows  his  glory  in  the  stars,  and  his 
love  of  the  beautiful  in  the  flowers  and  rain- 
bow and  sunsets,  so  you  would  adorn  your 
bodies  with  precious  gems  and  costly  orna- 
ments of  beauty. 

I  wonder  if  the  text  refers  to  ornaments  of 
gold  and  pearl.  Let  us  see.  It  says  :  "They 
shall  be  an  ornament."  And  what  does  it 
mean  ?  Read  the  words  just  before  the  text : 
''  My  son,  hear  the  instruction  of  thy  father, 
and  forsake  not  the  law  of  thy  mother :  for 
they  shall  be  an  ornament  of  grace  unto  thy 
head,  and  chains  about  thy  neck ;  "  that  is, 
necklaces.  We  see,  then,  that  these  jewels 
are  "  the  instruction  of  thy  father,  and  the 
law  of  thy  mother." 

Here,  then,  is  a  jewel  for  each  one  of  you, 
more  beautiful  than  chains  of  gold  or  neck- 
laces of  pearl,  one  that  will  last  you  longer 
and  adorn  you  better  than  sparkling  diamonds. 
No  one  can  steal  it  from  you,  and  you  need 
never  lose  it.  I  have  seen  some  of  you  wear- 
ing these  ornaments,  and  I  wish  you  all  had 
them. 

Do  you  cry  out:  "Oh,  I  would  rather 
have  a  gold  ring  or  a  watch  or  a  necklace ; 
for  I  should  look  so  much  better  with  it !  "  ? 


292 


SER3I0NS  FOR    CHILDREN. 


Let  me  ask  you  a  question  or  two  :  Why  do 
you  want  a  ring  or  a  necklace?  "Well,  I 
want  it  because  it  is  pretty  and  valuable,  and 
because  I  and  others  admire  it."  Yes,  we 
wear  ornaments  to  hz  seen  and  admired,  nor 
is  this  always  wrong.  But  which  will  make 
you  to  be  the  more  admired,  ornaments  of 
gold  and  pearl,  or  the  ornament  of  prompt 
and  loving  obedience  of  parents,  and  tender 
regard  for  them  ?  I  will  tell  you,  for  you 
might  not  answer  right. 

I  once  came  home  from  Chicago  on  a 
crowded  steamer.  A  sick  mother  and  her 
son,  a  young  man,  were  among  the  passen- 
gers. They  did  not  attract  the  notice  or 
admiration  of  any  one  at  first ;  for  both  were 
more  plainly  dressed  than  many  of  the  other 
passengers.  Yet  that  noble  young  man  was 
as  gentle  and  kind  and  attentive  to  his 
mother  as  she  had  been  to  him  when  a  child. 
He  did  every  thing  to  please  and  comfort 
her.  He  would  not  read  a  book,  or  wait 
until  she  wanted  something  and  asked  for 
it ;  but  he  got  it  without  her  asking.  There 
were  other  young  men  on  the  boat,  and  a 
great  many  men  and  women,  and  some  of 
them  with  much  jewelry.     But  who  do  you 


THE  BEST   ORNAMENTS. 


293 


think  came  to  be  most  admired  by  all  on  the 
steamer,  those  who  wore  the  most  gold  and 
diamonds  ?  No  ;  but  this  young  man  who 
wore  only  the  ornament  of  hearing  the  law 
of  his  mother.  He  did  not  forsake  the  train- 
ing she  had  given  him  when  a  littje  boy.  He 
was  admired  more  than  he  would  have  been 
had  he  been  covered  with  gold  and  diamonds. 
If  you  wear  jewelry  to  be  admired,  then  the 
very  best  ornament  for  you  to  wear  is  that  of 
our  text,  which  this  young  man  wore.  All 
will  admire  you  more  for  obeying  your  par- 
ents than  for  all  the  jewels  money  will  buy. 
Did  you  never  see  ornaments  on  some  one 
whose  character  you  did  not  admire  in  the 
least?  And  is  it  not  better  to  be  admired 
for  what  you  are  than  for  what  you  wear? 
for  your  character  and  good  acts  than  for 
your  gold  rings  or  chains  ?  Some  of  the 
worst  boys  and  girls,  men  and  women,  deck 
themselves  out  in  jewelry ;  but  their  orna- 
ments do  not  make  them  any  better.  Neither 
God  nor  man  admires  them,  though  covered 
with  gold.  Some  of  the  best  boys  and  girls, 
men  and  women,  do  not  w^ear  any  jewelry, 
or  but  little ;  and  yet  they  are  admired  and 
loved.     Their  jewels  are  of  the  soul,  not  of 


294 


SERMONS  FOR    CHILDREN. 


the  body ;  so  costly  that  no  money  can  buy 
them.  These  are  the  jewels  you  all  can 
have.  The  very  poorest  can  be  adorned  with 
good  manners  and  obedience.  You  can  hear 
and  heed  the  instruction  of  your  father  and 
forsake  not  the  law  of  your  mother  ;  and  they 
shall  be  an  ornament  of  grace  unto  thy  head 
and  chains  of  gold  about  thy  neck.  God  will 
love  you  and  men  will  admire  you.  Buy 
these   best   jewels  and    always  wear   them. 


LVIII. 
DORCAS     AND     HER     DEEDS. 

Now  there  was  at  Joppa  a  certain  disciple  named  Tabitha,  which 
by  interpretation  is  called  Dorcas :  this  woman  was  full  of  good 
works  and  almsdeeds  which  she  did.  —  Acts  9 :  36. 

Happy  is  any  one  of  whom  such  words 
can  be  said  ;  yet  it  may  be  said  of  each 
one  of  you,  if  you  will  do  as   Dorcas  did. 

Her  name  had  a  meaning,  as  your  names 
have.  Tabitha  means  gazelle,  "  the  gazelle 
being  regarded  as  the  standard  of  beauty." 
The  Greek  word  Dorcas  means  the  same. 
The  name  John  means  whom  Jehovah  loves  ; 
David  means  beloved  ;  Dora,  the  gift  of 
God  ;  Sarah,  a  princess.  Every  name  once 
meant  something,  if  it  does  not  now.  But 
Dorcas  was  not  so  beautiful  in  her  name 
as  in  what  she   did. 

If  you  will  look  on  the  map,  you  will 
find  Joppa,  where  she  lived,  on  the  coast, 
thirty-five  miles  north-west  of  Jerusalem. 
It  is  one  of  the  oldest  cities  in  the  world. 

Dorcas  was  a  disciple  of  Jesus  Christ, 
and    a    disciple    is    one    taught    or    trained. 

295 


296  SERMOiVS  FOR    CHILDREN. 

She  was  one  taught  or  trained  In  the 
teachings  of  Jesus  Christ.  She  beHeved 
them  and  obeyed  them.  You  can  be  like 
her  In  this.  You  can  be  taught  or  trained 
In  the  Bible.  You  can  believe  what  the 
Bible  says,  and  obey  It.  And  so  you  can 
be  a  disciple,  each  one  of  you,  as  she  was. 
You  see  that  It  Is  not  hard  being  a  dis- 
ciple of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  She  was 
a  member  of  the  church,  as  you  should  all 
desire  to  be  ;  for  Christ  requires  this  of 
his  disciples. 

But  this  is  not  all.  She  was  "  full  of 
good  works  and  almsdeeds  which  she  did." 
She  did  not  live  for  herself,  to  please  her- 
self, to  have  a  good  time ;  but  she  made 
coats  and  garments  for  the  poor.  She  made 
herself  very  useful,  and  so  made  herself 
and  others  happy ;  for  to  be  useful  Is  to 
be  happy. 

But  Dorcas  fell  sick  and  died.  We  are 
not  told  what  she  said  when  about  to  die, 
as  though  good  words  spoken  then  are 
better  than  a  life  of  good  deeds.  All  she 
said  Is  passed  by,  and  she  was  prepared 
for  burial.  Now  Peter  the  apostle  was  at 
Lydda,  a  few  miles  away,  and  the  friends  of 


DORCAS  AND  HER  DEEDS. 


297 


Dorcas  sent  two  men  to  him  to  entreat 
him,  saying,  "  Delay  not  to  come  on  unto 
us."  They  wanted  to  see  him  in  their  great 
sorrow;  for  when  sickness  and  death  come, 
we  all  need  friends  to  aid  and  comfort  us. 
It  is  then  that  the  heart  aches  for  love 
and  sympathy. 

Peter  came  at  once  to  the  house  where 
the  dead  Dorcas  lay,  and  they  brought  him 
into  the  upper  chamber  ;  "  and  all  the 
widows  stood  by  him  weeping,  and  show- 
ing the  coats  and  garments  which  Dorcas 
made,  while  she  was  with  them."  I  do  not 
suppose  that  Dorcas  ever  thought  that  what 
she  had  made  would  be  shown  or  spoken 
of  at  her  funeral.  But  the  poor  had  lost  a 
friend,  one  who  pitied  them  and  helped  them 
as  best  she  could.  And  to  have  Peter  know 
all  about  it,  not  only  how  they  felt,  —  which 
was  shown  by  their  weeping,  —  but  also 
what  a  noble  friend  had  been  taken  from 
them,  —  which  was  shown  by  the  garments 
she  had  made,  —  they  made  known  to  Peter 
how  much  they  had  lost  in  the  death  of 
Dorcas.  It  may  be  that  they  had  heard 
also  that  Peter  had  the  gift  of  miracles, 
and  might  possibly  restore  her  to  life  again, 
though  not  a  word  did  they  say  about  it. 


298  SESMONS  FOR    CHILDREN. 

*'  But  Peter  put  them  all  forth,  and  kneeled 
down,  and  prayed ;  and  turning  to  the  body, 
he  said,  Tabitha,  arise.  And  she  opened  her 
eyes;  and  when  she  saw  Peter,  she  sat  up. 
And  he  gave  her  his  hand,  and  raised  her 
up ;  and  calling  the  saints  and  widows,  he 
presented    her    alive." 

They  must  have  been  glad  when  they 
saw  her  alive  again.  Their  tears  were 
turned  into  singing.  But  none  were  more 
glad  than  the  widows  whom  she  had  done 
so  much  for  while  alive.  How  long  she 
lived  after  this,  to  make  them  coats  and 
garments,  we  do  not  know.  She  no  doubt 
continued  her  deeds  of  love  until  she  died 
again  and  went  home  to  heaven  to  be  for- 
ever with  Him  who  said :  ''  Inasmuch  as  ye 
did  it  unto  one  of  these  my  brethren,  even 
these  least,  ye  did  it  unto    me." 

Dorcas  lived  more  than  eighteen  hundred 
years  ago,  and  yet  we  read  about  her  with 
interest  to-day.  Why?  Not  because  she 
was  beautiful  or  rich ;  but  because  of  her 
good  works  and  almsdeeds,  which,  like 
kind  words,  never  die.  Her  heart,  like 
Christ's,  was  full  of  love  to  the  needy. 
So    she   worked   with    her    needle    to    help 


DORCAS  AND   HER  DEEDS. 


299 


them.  She  found  it  more  blessed  to  give 
than  to  receive.  She  did  not  spend  her 
time  on  herself,  and  all  her  money  in  fine 
clothes  for  herself  to  wear.  She  did  not 
seek  to  be  admired  for  her  good  looks,  or 
rich  dress,  or  costly  jewelry,  or  even  for 
her  good  works  and  almsdeeds.  She 
thought  of  the  widows  and  the  children 
about  her  in  the  city  of  Joppa,  and  she 
pitied  and  helped  them.  She  did  what 
she  could  for  them,  and  they  wept  over 
her  death  and  praised  her  good  deeds  to 
the  apostle.  Her  works  did  praise  her. 
She  did  what  she  could. 

Do  you  not  think,  children,  that  Dorcas 
did  right,  and  that  it  would  be  well  for  you 
to  do  as  she  did  ?  There  are  some  now  who 
live  by  begging.  They  are  as  well  able  to 
work  as  your  fathers  and  mothers.  I  do  not 
think  it  would  be  right  for  you  to  take  the 
hard-earned  money  of  your  fathers  and  moth- 
ers and  give  it  to  those  who  can  work  but  will 
not.  Christ  does  not  ask  you  to  do  that. 
Paul  gave  this  rule  to  the  churches:  "This 
we  commanded  you,  If  any  will  not  work, 
neither  let  him  eat."  It  was  not  such  that 
Dorcas  helped.     But  there  are   poor   neigh- 


300 


SER MOATS  FOR    CHTLDREN. 


bors  who  are  worthy  and  who  need  your  help. 
And  is  it  not  better  to  make  them  warm 
and  happy,  to  feed  and  clothe  them,  than 
to  spend  all  your  time  trying  to  find  out 
some  new  pleasure  for  yourselves  ?  What 
joy  can  be  sweeter,  fresher,  more  satisfying, 
than  to  help  and  care  for  others  ?  They  are 
the  happiest  who  do  as  Dorcas  did,  who  love 
Christ  Jesus   and  help    the  widows. 

I  would  not  stop  your  playing,  for  it  is 
one  of  God's  ways  for  training  you,  and  I 
like  to  see  you  play  when  you  are  kind  to 
one  another,  do  not  cheat,  and  do  not  make 
a  great  noise  about  it.  But  it  is  not  good  to 
play  all  the  time.  Solomon  the  king  said : 
''  To  every  thing  there  is  a  season."  If  you, 
then,  would  mix  up  with  your  play  care  for 
the  poor  children  about  you,  their  happy 
faces  would  make  you  still  happier.  Try 
it,  and  you  will  so  enjoy  it  that  soon  you  will 
be  full  of  good  works  and  almsdeeds.  If 
you  are  very  young  and  can  not  work  for 
them  to  help  them,  you  can  plant  seeds, 
and  by-and-by  when  the  flowers  bloom  you 
can  pick  the  flowers  and  take  them  to  the 
sick  and  the  poor ;  and  that  will  make  their 
sad  lives  better  and    happier.      Would  not 


DORCAS  AND  HER  DEEDS.  30 1 

that  be  a  beautiful  thing  to  do  ?  Then  you 
who  are  older  can  make  garments  and  give 
the  poor,  or  plant  a  garden  and  raise 
something  that  they  can  eat.  You  can 
talk  with  your  parents  about  it,  and  do 
the  very  best  thing  for  them  and  for  you. 
A  new  joy  will  enter  your  heart  and  theirs 
too  ;  for  love  comforts  and  soothes  the  heart 
as  well  as  feeds  and  clothes  the  body.  Try  to 
do  as  Dorcas  did,  to  be  disciples  of  Jesus 
Christ,  and  full  of  good  works  and  almsdeeds. 
It  will  be  the  sweetest  joy  of  your  life.  It 
will  make  you  like  Jesus  Christ,  who  went 
about  doing  good. 


LIX. 

MEANING    OF   THE   CHURCH 
SERVICES. 

And  they  were  all  amazed,  and  were  perplexed,  saying  one  to  another, 
What  meaneth  this?  —  Acts  2  :  12. 

This  question  was  asked  by  men  at  the 
time  when  the  Church  of  Christ  was  first 
formed  by  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and 
the  Apostle  Peter  answered  it  then.  And 
when  you  first  came  to  church  and  heard 
the  singing,  the  preaching,  and  the  prayers, 
you  were  amazed  and  perplexed,  and  said: 
"What  meaneth  this?"  So  I  am  going  to 
tell  you  the  meaning  of  the  parts  of  the 
church  services. 

We  have  as  parts  of  our  church  service 
music  and  singing,  which  we  will  call  praise, 
reading  the  Bible,  free-will  offerings,  preach- 
ing, and  prayer.     Let  us  speak  of  each  part. 

I .  The  service  of  praise.  This  is  the  high- 
est and  best  part  of  worship  ;  for  it  is  better 
to  thank  God  for  the  things  he  gives  us  than 
to  ask  him  for  more.     Now  praise  is  expressed 

302 


MEANING    OF   THE    CHURCH  SERVICES. 


303 


in  music  and  song,  and  these  form  a  large 
part  of  the  church  services.  ''  Sing  praises 
to  God,  sing  praises ;  sing  praises  unto  our 
King,  sing  praises  ;  "  "  speaking  one  to 
another  in  psalms  and  hymns  and  spiritual 
songs,  singing  and  making  melody  with  your 
heart  to  the  Lord;  giving  thanks  always 
for  all  things  in  the  name  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  to  God,  even  the  Father "  (Eph.  5  : 
19,  20).     This  is  the  worship  of  praise. 

Let  me  name  the  parts  of  praise  :  There  is 
first  the  organ  voluntary,  which  is  that  part 
of  worship  designed  to  soothe  and  prepare 
all  hearts  for  the  rest  of  the  services ;  then 
the  doxology, 

"Praise  God  from  whom  all  blessings  flow," 

is  a  call  to  praise  and  the  offering  of  praise. 
But  there  is  a  better  song  of  praise,  very  old, 
and  sung  by  all  the  churches,  beginning,  — 

"Glory  be  to  the  Father,  and  to  the  Son,  and  to  the 
Holy  Ghost." 

This  is  more  Scriptural  and  joyous  and  is 
higher  and  purer  worship  than  the  doxology. 
Then  there  is  an  older  song,  going  back  to 
the  angels'  song  at  the  birth  of  Jesus,  begin- 
ning, — 


304  SERMONS  FOR   CHILDREN. 

^'  Glory  be  to  God  on  high,  and  on  earth  peace,  good- 
will toward  men." 

This  is  also  a  form  of  praise  to  be  sung  or 
chanted  by  the  choir  or  the  congregation. 
The  hymns  are  also  praise,  and  the  respon- 
sive readings  often. 

Nothing  can  be  higher  and  nobler  than 
the  worship  of  praise,  singing  and  chanting 
the  glories  of  God.  It  is  the  best  part  of 
worship  ;  for  it  is  better  to  thank  God  than 
to  beg  of  him  ;  to  be  grateful  for  what  we 
receive,  than  to  ask  more  of  him. 

2.  The  service  of  instruction.  To  worship 
God  as  we  ought,  we  must  know  what  he  is 
and  what  he  wants  us  to  be  and  do.  We 
must  be  taught  of  God,  and  this  is  done  by 
reading  some  part  of  the  Bible,  and  by  taking 
a  text  from  the  Bible  and  preaching  from  it. 
So  the  reading  and  the  preaching  make  up 
the  service  of  instruction  in  our  worship. 

This  is  very  useful.  As  you  go  to  school 
to  learn  lessons,  and  to  the  Sunday-school  to 
learn  lessons  from  the  Bible  and  to  be  taught 
about  God,  and  Christ,  and  the  Spirit,  and 
your  duty  to  God  and  man,  so  you  should 
come  to  church  to  be  taught  about  God  and 
duty.     You  should  take  part  in  the  respon- 


MEANING    OF   THE    CHURCH  SERVICES.       3 05 

sive  readings  and  listen  attentively  to  the 
other  Scriptures  and  to  the  sermon,  that 
you  may  worship  with  heart  and  voice.  Thus 
we  honor  God's  Word.  We  want  to  hear 
what  God  says  to  us ;  and  hearing,  we 
should  obey. 

So  the  reading  and  the  preaching  are  an 
Important  part  of  worship,  and  should  never 
be  neglected. 

3.  The  service  of  the  free-will  offering. 
God  prospers  us,  giving  fruitful  seasons, 
labor,  and  wages.  All  that  we  eat  and  wear 
and  have  come  from  him,  and  in  our  grati- 
tude to  God  for  his  rich  blessings,  and  for 
the  hope  of  salvation  through  Christ  who 
died  for  us,  we  are  required  by  him  to  give 
to  his  service  for  missions  and  for  the  sup- 
port of  the  church  itself,  a  part  of  what  we 
earn  or  raise  or  have.  It  is  a  religious  duty 
to  do  this ;  God  requires  It ;  and  the  giving 
in  a  right  spirit  Is  an  act  of  worship.  So  this 
free-will  offering,  as  we  call  it,  which  Is  a 
better  word  than  collection,  or  contribution, 
is  made  a  part  of  the  church  services.  Re- 
member that  you  worship  God  by  giving 
money  unto  him  in  this  service ;  and  that 
you  ought  to  give  as  he  prospers  you. 


3o6  SERMONS  FOR    CHILDREN. 

4.  The  service  of  prayer.  Prayer  is  thank- 
ing God  for  his  gifts  to  us,  and  asking  him 
for  what  things  we  think  we  need.  Prayer 
includes  the  invocation,  the  benediction,  and 
the  longer  and  shorter  prayer.  In  prayer  we 
confess  our  sins,  adore  and  worship  God. 
We  pray  for  all  men,  that  God  may  bless  and 
save  them. 

This  is  so  great  a  duty  that  much  is  said 
about  it  in  the  Bible.  Jesus  said  that  men 
ought  always  to  pray  and  not  to  faint.  Paul, 
in  the  name  of  Christ,  commands :  ''  Pray 
without  ceasing."  It  would  be  a  good  thing 
for  you  to  find  all  the  verses  in  the  Bible 
that  speak  about  prayer,  put  a  short,  straight 
mark  with  a  pencil  against  them  in  the  mar- 
gin of  your  own  Bibles,  that  you  may  easily 
see  them,  and  then  to  read  them  often.  Will 
you  not  do  it  ?  for  prayer  is  so  important  a 
duty  that  God  has  said  much  about  it  in 
the  Bible. 

But  you  say  that  in  the  church  the  minister 
prays.  Yes,  he  leads  in  this  part  of  the  ser- 
vice, but  all  should  silently  join  him  in  prayer, 
so  that  all  hearts  will  be  lifted  unto  God  in 
prayer,  as  in  praise.  The  minister  prays  for 
all  and  with  all. 


MEANING    OF   THE    CHURCH  SERVICES.       307 

We  have  now  told  you  the  meaning  of  the 
several  acts  of  church  worship,  that  you  may 
enter  into  each  act  —  the  singing,  the  teach- 
ing, the  giving,  and  the  praying  —  with  a 
knowledge  of  what  it  is.  Each  has  its  pecu- 
liar meaning,  but  all  are  parts  of  church 
worship.  We  are  to  worship  God  in  each 
and  all.  One  may  be  higher  than  another, 
but  all  are  useful  and  needful.  And  one  of 
the  best  things  is  that  children  can  worship 
with  their  parents  in  the  house  of  God.  God 
wants  you  to  attend  church,  and  what  is  more 
beautiful  in  the  house  of  God  than  to  see 
father  and  mother  and  all  the  children  in  the 
same  pew  worshiping  God  together?  And 
if  all  the  parents  and  children  were  present 
every  Sunday,  how  God  would  bless  them ! 
Will  you  not  worship  God  together  in  his 
house  ? 


LX. 
DO    NOT    KILL    THE    BIRDS. 

The  time  of  the    singing  of  birds    is    come,  and   the   voice    of  the 
turtle    [dove]   is   heard  in  our  land."  —  Song  of  Solomon  2 :  12. 

The  book  from  which  this  joyous  text  is 
taken  is  sometimes  called  The  Song  of 
Songs,  sometimes  it  is  called  Canticles,  but 
more  generally  it  is  called  the  Song  of 
Solomon. 

The  text  refers  to  the  spring  of  the  year, 
when  the  winter  is  past,  the  flowers  appear 
on  the  earth,  and  the  singing  birds  come 
again,  a  time  of  gladness  to  man  and  bird. 
Let  us  on  this  spring  day  talk  about  birds 
and    your  duty   not  to  kill   them. 

I.  The  birds  are  musical.  How  they 
sing  In  the  morning !  they  sing  among  the 
the  branches  of  the  trees ;  and  they  sing  in 
their  cages ;  and  they  seem  never  to  tire 
of  singing.  If  you  were  to  hush  all  their 
sweet  voices  in  death,  how  silent  the  trees 
would  be  !  I  like  to  have  them  in  my  home 
and    in  the    trees  about   my   home,  because 

308 


DO  NOT  KILL    THE  BIRDS.  309 

they  sing  so  much  and  so  well.  God  has 
made  them  to  sing  to  one  another  that  the 
air  might  be  full  of  music  about  us.  We 
sing,  if  we  can,  but  only  now  and  then  ;  the 
birds  sing  as  if  they  were  full  of  gladness, 
and  their  songs  add  to  our  joy.  Do  not 
stone    or    shoot  them    for  this    reason. 

2.  The  birds  are  beautiful.  Even  the 
flowers  are  not  more  beautiful  than  some 
birds,  but  all    are    not   alike  in    rich   colors. 

Were  you  to  try  to  paint  a  picture  of 
a  bird,  do  you  think  your  painted  bird 
would  be  as  handsome  as  the  living  bird  ? 
No  ;  you  could  not  mix  your  coloring  as 
it  is  mixed  on  a  bird's  feathers  ;  you  could 
not  give  the  changing  hues  we  see  on 
some  birds,  a  different  color  every  time 
they  move.  Would  it  not  be  a  pity  to 
take  all  this  beauty  away  from  the  grass 
and  the  trees  and  the  air  by  killing  the 
birds  ?  You  did  not  think  of  this  when 
you  threw  a  stone  at  one  last  week,  did 
you  ?  You  wanted  to  hit  it  for  the  sake  of 
hitting  it,  and  you  did  not  stop  to  think 
that  if  you  killed  it,  you  would  kill  a  beauti- 
ful  thing. 

3.  The  birds  are  ornamental.     You    have 


3IO'  SERMONS  FOR    CHILDREN. 

beautiful  pictures  on  the  walls  of  your  homes, 
and  beautiful  things  in  the  rooms.  Some  of 
you  wear  beautiful  feathers  in  your  hats  or 
bonnets  from  the  plumage  of  some  bird ;  or 
perhaps  a  wing  or  the  whole  plumage  you 
wear  ;  and  men  sometimes  wear  long  plumes 
in  their  hats  ;  and  all  as  ornaments,  because 
we  love  beautiful  things.  God  loves  beauti- 
ful things,  and  has  made  the  sky,  the  grass, 
the  trees,  the  flowers,  and  the  birds  beauti- 
ful. What  a  barren,  dreary  place  this  world 
would  be  with  no  beautiful  thinofs  in  it !  You 
sod  and  cut  the  lawn  that  the  grass  may  grow 
green  and  beautiful.  You  plant  flowers  in 
beds  and  keep  them  in  your  windows  be- 
cause of  their  beauty.  You  set  out  trees  for 
their  shade  and  beauty.  But  there  is  noth- 
ing about  your  home  so  beautiful  as  the 
birds  hopping  about  on  the  grass,  or  singing 
among  the  branches  of  the  trees,  or  coming 
to  eat  from  your  hand.  Do  not  hurt  them, 
for  God  made  them  a  beautiful  ornament  for 
your  homes,  to  sing  to  you.      But 

4.  The  birds  are  useful.  Some  are  more 
useful  than  others.  Their  singing  and  their 
beauty  make  them  useful,  but  God  has  made 
them    more    useful    still.     They    eat    up    the 


DO  NOT  KILL    THE  BIRDS.  31 1 

worms  and  bugs  and  flies  which  hurt  the 
flowers,  the  grain,  the  trees,  and  do  so  much 
damage.  These  bugs  and  flies  and  worms 
are  their  food,  and  God  has  made  the  birds 
to  eat  them  up,  so  that  they  may  not  kill  the 
wheat,  the  grain,  the  trees,  and  thus  starve 
us  to  death.  The  birds  are  so  useful  that 
the  laws  of  the  state  forbid  your  killing  cer- 
tain kinds.  As  you  have  never  read  the  law, 
I  will  give  it :  ^ 

''  Any  person  who  shall  at  any  time, 
within  this  state,  kill  any  robin,  night-hawk, 
whippoorwill,  finch,  thrush,  lark,  sparrow, 
cherry-bird,  swallow,  yellow-bird,  blue-bird, 
brown  thrasher,  wren,  martin,  oriole,  wood- 
pecker, bobolink,  or  any  song  bird,  or  rob 
the  nests  of  such  birds,  shall  be  deemed 
guilty  of  a  misdemeanor,  and  on  conviction 
thereof  shall  be  fined  five  dollars  for  each 
bird  so  killed,  or  for  each  nest  so  robbed, 
or  confined  in  the  county  jail  for  ten  days, 
or  both  such  fine  and  imprisonment  in 
the  discretion  of  the  court." 

You  see  that  you  can  be  fined  or  sent  to 
jail  or  both  for  every  one  of  these  birds  you 
kill  at  any  time  of  the  year.     It  is  because 

1  Law  of  Michigan. 


312  SERMONS  FOR   CHILDREN. 

they  are  so  useful  to  man  that  the  law  of  the 
state  protects  them. 

There  are  some  other  birds,  besides  other 
animals  and  fish,  that  can  not  be  killed  at 
certain  times  of  the  year,  when  they  are 
bringing   up  their  young. 

Do  not  kill  the  singing,  the  beautiful,  the 
ornamental,  and  the  useful  birds.  Some 
others  you  may  kill,  for  they  destroy  these 
birds  and  other  useful  things.  But  do  not 
throw  stones  at  the  sweet  songsters.  Make 
pets  of  them,  so  they  will  not  be  afraid  of 
you  and  go  away  to  some  other  home. 
Study  their  way  of  life.  If  you  look  into 
their  nests,  do  not  touch  the  eggs  or  the 
young.  God  has  made  them  beautiful  and 
musical  and  useful,  and  nothing  can  be  a 
better  ornament  to  your  yards  than  these 
birds  singing  there,  so  tame  that  you  can 
feed  them. 


LXI. 

GETTING    ANGRY    WITHOUT 

SIN. 

Be  ye  angry,  and  sin  not.  —  Eph.  4 :  26, 

If  I  were  to  go  into  your  homes  and  re- 
main a  long  time,  I  fear  that  I  should  find 
some  of  you  getting  angry  many  times  a 
day.  Every  time  you  can  not  have  your 
own  way,  —  if  you  can  not  go  out  after  dark 
to  play  when  you  want  to ;  if  you  can  not 
be  chewing  gum  all  the  time,  as  some 
grown  up  boys  and  girls  foolishly  do ;  if  you 
can  not  have  whatever  you  want,  —  you  fly 
into  a  fit  of  anger,  and  perhaps  stamp  your 
little  feet  in   a  rage.     Is  it  not  so  ? 

Well,  then  I  am  going  to  preach  to  you 
on  getting  angry,  a  sermon  that  you  all 
need. 

I.  It  is  right  sometimes  to  get  angry. 
Our  text  teaches  this.  It  says  :  ''  Be  ye 
angry,  and  sin  not."  And  the  verse  before 
it  is  :  ''Wherefore,  putting  away  falsehood, 
speak  ye  truth  each  one  with  his  neighbour  : 

313 


314  SERMONS  FOR    CHILDREN. 

for  we  are  members  one  of  another."  It 
would  seem  that  Paul  meant  that  we  could 
rightly  get  angry  at  a  lie.  A  lie  so  base  and 
mean  may  be  told  against  a  good  child  or 
man,  that  he  ought  to  resent  it,  be  angry  at 
it,  and  that  he  would  not  be  good  without 
being  angry  at  it.  It  is  so  of  some  other 
wicked  things.  God  is  angry  with  the 
wicked;  Christ  was  angry  once,  and  it  is 
right  that  we  should  be  angry  at  lies  and 
some  other  sins.  Hence  Paul  says  :  *'  Be  ye 
angry,  and  sin  not."  We  ought  sometimes 
to  be  angry,  so  cruel  and  wrong  are  the 
things  said  and  done. 

But  while  it  is  easy  to  get  angry  when 
we  ought  and  when  we  ought  not,  it  is  very 
hard  to  do  the  other  thing,  to  keep  from 
sinning  in  our  anger.  Let  us  then  turn  to 
the  harder  part. 

2.  We  must  never  get  so  angry  as  to  com- 
mit sin.  Sin  is  always  wrong,  and  we  must 
never  do  wrong.  Now  it  is  hard  not  to  get 
angry  except  at  the  right  time  and  at  the 
proper  things  ;  and  then  when  it  is  right  to 
be  angry,  it  is  hard  not  to  be  angry  just 
enough  and  no  more,  so  that  our  anger 
does  not  go  too  far. 


GETTING  ANGRY   WITHOUT  SIN.  315 

Do  not  go  home  and  say  that  I  told  you  to 
get  angry  at  every  little  thing  that  you  do 
not  like,  for  I  do  not  say  so.  There  are  only 
a  very  few  things  at  which  it  is  right  for  you 
to  get  mad.  If  your  brother  snatches  any 
thing  out  of  your  hand,  do  not  get  angry 
at  it.  If  you  can  not  go  where  you  want 
to,  or  have  what  you  want,  do  not  fall 
into  a  passion  and  fret  and  cry.  If  you 
can  not  learn  your  lesson  as  fast  as  you 
desire,  or  do  a  sum,  or  find  a  place  on  the 
map,  it  is  wrong  to  become  angry  about  it. 
I  do  not  think,  boys  and  girls,  it  is  right  for 
you  to  get  angry  very  often,  not  once  in 
ten  times  ;  no,  not  once  in  fifty  times.  I  am 
not  telling  you  to  be  angry  often,  but  only 
once  in  a  while,  and  then  at  very  wicked 
things. 

Then  again  I  warn  you  not  to  let  your 
angry  passions  rise  too  high  in  these  few 
cases.  If  some  one  has  lied  about  you,  or 
said  bad  things  and  untrue  to  your  face,  or 
stolen  from  you,  or  done  other  injuries  to 
you,  you  may  become  too  angry  at  it  and  say 
and  do  what  you  ought  not.  We  can  con- 
demn the  wrong  done,  in  words  plain  and 
strong ;    but   a   man    may    not    be    all    bad 


3l6  SERMONS  FOR    CHILDREN. 

because  he  has  been  bad  to  us.  There  may 
be  some  good  in  him,  hence  we  should  not 
be  so  angry  at  him,  because  of  his  wrong  to 
us,  that  we  can  not  say  just  and  right  things 
about  him,  that  we  can  not  see  his  good 
traits  and  speak  well  of  them.  So  when  we 
are  permitted  to  get  angry,  as  we  sometimes 
are,  we  must  be  very  careful  not  to  be  too 
angry,  so  angry  as  to  sin. 

3.  How  can  we  keep  from  getting  so 
angry    that   we    sin  ? 

We  must  first  be  careful  not  to  be  angry 
when  we  ought  not  to  get  angry.  Do  not 
get  mad  at  every  thing  that  you  do  not  like. 
If  you  can  not  have  all  you  want,  do 
not  fall  into  a  passion  and  cry.  If  you  are 
teased  by  any  one,  do  not  let  your  angry 
passions  rise ;  take  it  pleasantly,  and  they 
will  not  tease  you  so  much. 

I  wish  I  knew  how  many  of  you  could  go 
one  whole  week  and  not  get  angry.  May  I 
not  ask  you  to  try  it,  and  see  if  you  can 
go  through  the  week  without  losing  your 
temper  once  ? 

Remember  that  there  are  only  a  very  few 
things  indeed  in  regard  to  which  you  are 
commanded  to  be  angry,  and  sin    not,   and 


GETTING  ANGRY   WITHOUT  SIN.  317 

they  are  not  the  Httle  trifling  things,  but  the 
great  wicked  things,  the  great  wrongs  men 
do  us,  the  barefaced  Hes  they  may  tell 
against  us,  and  such  like  things. 

And  remember  again  that  you  do  wrong  in 
nearly  all  your  angry  fits,  either  by  being 
angry  when  you  ought  not,  or  else  by  being 
more  angry  than  you  ought  to  be.  As  a 
general  rule,  then,  we  are  to  *' cease  from 
anger,  and  forsake  wrath."  "  He  that  is  slow 
to  anger  is  better  than  the  mighty;  and 
he  that  ruleth  his  spirit  than  he  that  taketh 
a   city." 


LXII. 

THE    UNRULY    TONGUE. 

Behold,  how    much  wood  is  kindled  by  how  small  a  fire !  —  Jas. 
3:  5- 

A  MATCH  Is  a  very  little  thing ;  but  the 
fingers  of  a  little  child  or  the  teeth  of  a  little 
mouse  may  Ignite  it  and  burn  into  ashes 
the  house  in  which  you  live  or  the  city 
where  thousands  live.  Seeing  It,  we  repeat 
the  text :  "  Behold,  how  much  wood  Is 
kindled  by  how  small  a  fire  !  "  Hence,  chil- 
dren, you  must  not  play  with  matches  or 
with  fire ;  for  if  you  do,  you  may  burn  the 
house  down  over  your  heads,  and  have  no 
home  left. 

You  like  to  ride  after  a  strong  horse,  and 
to  hold  the  reins  and  make  him  go  to  the 
right  hand  or  to  the  left  hand  just  as 
you  please.  But  you  could  not  turn  the 
horse  about  with  your  little  hands,  were  it 
not  for  the  bit  in  the  horse's  mouth.  The 
beautiful  horse  Is  made  to  do  your  will,  to 
stop,  to    draw   a   heavy  wagon    or   a  costly 

318 


THE    UNRULY   TONGUE. 


319 


carriage  wherever  you  desire,  to  be  a  use- 
ful servant,  by  a  very  small  bit  in  his  mouth. 

The  great  ships  and  steamers  that  sail  on 
our  lakes  and  seas,  and  do  not  stop  for  a 
strong  wind,  are  turned  about  by  a  little 
rudder  or  helm,  without  which  they  would  be 
of  little  use. 

You  have  seen  tamed  birds  that  would  fly 
to  your  finger  when  you  held  it  out,  and 
tamed  squirrels  that  would  play  with  you, 
and  bears  that  would  dance  to  music  on  the 
street,  and  it  may  be  you  have  seen  men 
riding  on  great  elephants,  or  going  into  the 
lion's  cage  :  for  great  and  savage  beasts  have 
been  tamed  and  made  obedient  to  man's 
will. 

But  you  have  a  little  member  which  is 
harder  to  make  mind  than  any  of  these.  It 
is  not  your  hand  or  your  foot,  for  you  can 
make  them  do  as  you  please.  It  is  that  little 
tongue  in  your  mouth,  which  speaks  out  so 
quickly,  which  boasts  such  great  things, 
which  tells  stories  and  lies  and  says  so  many 
naughty  words,  that  is  so  hard  to  tame. 
Your  tongue  makes  more  trouble  than  your 
hands  and  feet.  It  says  what  it  ought  not, 
and  uses   words   which   kindle   the    fires   of 


320  SERMONS  FOR    CHILDREN. 

Strife,  and  which  are  harder  to  stop  than  a 
burning  house.  It  "  setteth  on  fire  the 
wheel  of  nature,  and  is  set  on  fire  by  hell." 

I  want,  therefore,  to  speak  to  you  of  the 
tongue  which  no  man  but  yourself  can  tame. 
You  will  find  what  the  Apostle  James  says  of 
it  in  his  Epistle,  3  :    1-12.     Read  it. 

One  reason  why  the  tongue  is  so  hard  to 
tame  is  that  it  moves  so  quickly  that  we  speak 
out  before  we  think  what  we  ought  to  say. 
We  do  not  like  something,  and  the  tongue 
tells  it,  right  out.  We  feel  sorry  that  we  said 
it,  but  it  is  too  late,  the  words  have  been 
spoken  and  can  not  be  recalled.  Had  we 
waited  a  little,  we  should  not  have  said  them  ; 
but  the  tongue  was  too  quick  for  us.  It 
kindled  the  fire  before  we  thought  what  we 
were  doing.  This  is  one  reason  why  the 
tongue  is   a  restless  evil. 

Another  reason  is  that  the  tongue  is  largely 
an  index  of  the  heart.  You  watch  the  hands 
on  a  clock  or  watch,  how  they  move.  They 
are  turned  by  wheels  which  are  out  of  sight, 
and  move  just  as  the  wheels  make  them  turn. 
So  the  tongue  moves  as  the  heart  makes  it 
move.  It  says  bad  words  not  of  itself,  but 
just    as     the     heart    prompts    it.      And    as 


THE    UNRULY   TONGUE.  32  I 

"  the  heart  is  deceitful  above  all  things,"  the 
tongue  is  "  full  of  deadly  poison."  "•  Out  of 
the  same  mouth  cometh  forth  blessing  and 
cursing." 

This  is  sad,  for  we  can  not  always  tell  what 
one  means  by  what  he  says.  He  may  say 
one  thing  and  mean  another.  He  may  do 
a  thing,  and  then  say  that  he  did  not  do  it. 
He  may  come  to  you  with  a  lie  in  his  mouth. 
He  may  flatter  you,  to  get  you  to  do  what  you 
ought  not  to  do  ;  and  blame  you  for  doing 
what  you  have  rightly  done.  Men  are  bad 
and  children  are  bad,  and  hence  they  lie  and 
deceive  and  flatter  with  their  tongues.  This 
is  too  often  the  case. 

I  want  you  to  do  all  you  can  to  tame  the 
tongue,  and  make  it  tell  the  truth  always : 
for  ''  if  any  stumbleth  not  in  word,  the  same 
is  a  perfect  man,  able  to  bridle  the  whole  body 
also."  Remember  these  five  rules  for  taming 
the  tongue  :  — 

I.'  Speak  modestly.  That  is,  wait  until 
you  are  spoken  to,  and  do  not  put  in  your 
little  talk  when  older  ones  are  talking. 
Listen  to  what  they  say,  and  learn  :  but  if 
you  want  to  ask  a  question,  do  so  quietly. 
It  is  not  modest  in  you  to  speak  up  often,  or 


322 


SERMONS  FOR    CHILDREN. 


to  take  part  In  the  conversation  as  if  you 
were  men  and  women.  Speak,  therefore, 
modestly,    as  children. 

2.  Speak  carefully.  Do  not  speak  out 
what  first  comes  into  your  mind,  for  it  may  not 
be  the  best  or  right  thing  to  say ;  but  think 
twice  before  you  speak,  so  that  you  may  not 
speak  hastily  and  say  what  you  would  not 
wish  to  say.     Think  before  you  speak. 

3.  Speak  truthfully.  Always  say  the  exact 
truth,  no  more,  no  less.  Do  not  tell  a  big 
story  out  of  a  little  one.  Do  not  tell  a  lie,  or 
deceive  by  telling  only  a  part  of  the  truth. 
Speak  so  truthfully  that  people  will  believe 
what  you  say.  If  you  do  not,  no  one  who 
knows  you  will  believe  you,  not  even  when 
you   tell  the   truth. 

4.  Speak  charitably.  Do  not  put  the  worst 
meaning  on  the  words  of  others,  but  the  best 
meaning  that  you  can  truthfully  put  on 
them.  And  so  also  what  they  do.  While 
boys  and  girls,  men  and  women,  are  bad  in 
many  things,  they  are  not  bad  in  all  they  say 
and  do.  Be  careful,  then,  not  to  think  and 
speak  of  them  too  severely,  but  put  the  best 
meaning  you  can  on  what  they  say  and  do. 
Speak  charitably. 


THE    UNRULY   TONGUE. 


zn 


5.  Speak  moderately.  Do  not  talk  all  the 
time,  for  then  you  will  say  too  much.  Your 
tongue  runs  easily  and  may  run  too  con- 
stantly. Keep  it  still.  Shut  your  mouth, 
so  that  it  can  not  be  heard.  Give  others  a 
chance  to  speak,  which  you  can  not  do  il 
you  talk  all  the  time. 

Learn  these  five  rules  and  practise  them, 
and  you  will  tame  the  unruly  tongue  and 
bridle  it. 

1.  Speak  modestly. 

2.  Speak  carefully. 

3.  Speak  truthfully. 

4.  Speak  charitably. 

5.  Speak  moderately. 


Date  Due 


)r5- 


> 


i.  V 


